USS Calzona
by fluffycalzonafics
Summary: Commander Calliope Torres is given command of the Federation Starbase Seattle. With the help of her first officer, Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins, and the rest of her senior staff, she aims to bring stability and prosperity to the farthest reaches of Federation territory.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Ok, I'm a major Grey's Anatomy AND Star Trek fan, and I just want to write this even if no one wants to read it. (But I'm hoping that _someone_ will enjoy it). Basically, big space station commanded by our favorite men and women from SGMW. I am NOT well-versed in Star Trek facts or technobabble, so I'm just going to either avoid it or make it up. And this isn't going to be action/adventure or anything. Just…a story about relationships…IN SPACE! The focus will be Calzona, but most of your favorite faces should show up frequently enough. Cristina Yang is a Vulcan. It's awesome. (Well, I think it is :P) And with that, I'll let you get acquainted with our heroine, the beautiful and talented Commander Calliope Torres.**

**I don't own Grey's or Star Trek blah blah blah**

Commander Calliope Torres stepped off the turbolift and into the Central Promenade of the Federation Starbase _Seattle_. Taking a deep breath, she stopped to admire the grandeur of it. A brand new, state-of-the-art starbase, and it was all under her command. A smile spread across her face.

In the peaceful century that followed the Dominion War, the Federation had focused its efforts on slowly but surely exploring and expanding into both the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. A need had arisen for a more permanent center of diplomacy, science, and commerce near the edges of Federation territory in the Alpha Quadrant, so the _Seattle_ _Project_ had been born. A massive starbase, capable of housing upwards of fifty thousand people, the _Seattle_ was much more like a city than most starbases. While it had the best defensive capabilities Starfleet had to offer—it could hold off an entire fleet by itself—defense wasn't a major concern. Careful planning had led to its construction in an enviable location, where anyone who might pose a threat would have to get through several starbases and fleets before they ever reached the _Seattle_. No, the purpose of the _Seattle_ was to promote civilization in deep space. Commander Torres would spend her time as an administrator, trade negotiator, and diplomat. And she was definitely ok with that.

Callie nodded a greeting at a few crewmen as she walked slowly into the Promenade. Most of the station's personnel, along with her command crew, had arrived on the _Seattle_ approximately one month earlier to begin the process of getting the station ready for operation. Physical construction was completed about a week ago, and the station's first colonists would be arriving with the fleet sometime in the next few weeks.

As she watched the various crewmen hard at work in the Promenade, Torres felt a sense of pride rise in her chest. This was _her_ crew. _Her_ station. Sure, it wouldn't have been at the top of everyone's list to obtain a posting a full three-month trip away from Earth and Federation Headquarters, but she considered it an absolute honor to be given command of such a magnificent station. Everyone had assumed that command of the _Seattle_ would be given to a captain or an admiral, to someone with a long and storied career. But here she was, in her early thirties, with almost her entire career ahead of her. Starfleet apparently had a lot of faith in her. _Not bad Torres_, she thought to herself, another smug smile creeping onto her face. _Not bad at all_.

"Commander Calliope Torres?" a stern and serious voice called out to her. She turned to see a young Vulcan woman, clad in the golden color of an operations officer.

"Commander _Callie_ Torres," she corrected the Vulcan, offering her hand. The Vulcan politely shook her proffered hand. With a very firm grip.

"Lt. Commander Cristina Yang. Chief of Station Security. Welcome aboard, ma'am."

"Thank you, Lt. Commander. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, ma'am." _Not very much of a conversationalist, are you?_ Callie thought to herself. Not that Vulcans ever were.

"Is station security ready for the influx of colonists we're about to get?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well that's uh…that's good," Callie stuttered. She had always found Vulcans' solemnness to be unnerving. She supposed she would have to get used to Cristina Yang.

"Yes, ma'am." If the young Lt. Commander thought her commanding officer was a moron—which was entirely possible—Callie doubted that she'd ever find out. Yang's face hadn't so much as twitched since their conversation began.

"So…" Callie drew out the word unnecessarily long. "Should we head up to Command?" She was anxious to meet her command crew—the people she would be spending every day with for the next several years, if not longer. This posting had the potential to last for quite some time.

"As you wish, Commander," Yang replied. "If you'll follow me?"

Callie fell in line with her security chief. She knew the way to Command by heart—she had had plenty of time to kill on her three month voyage, and she had used it to memorize every single detail of the _Seattle_ and its crew. But she didn't mind letting her officer lead the way. It left her more time to take in her surroundings. Schematics were one thing. Finally being there was…something else.

"Lt. Commander Robbins wished for me to pass along her apologies for not coming to meet you herself," Yang said as they turned a corner and headed towards the central turbolifts. "She had a bit of an…accident, and has been detained in the medical wing."

"Wait, what?" Callie stopped walking. "Is she alright?" She wanted to get this station up and running as smoothly as possible, and she wasn't wild about having her highly-recommended first officer out of commission.

Yang turned to face her commanding officer. "I do not know the nature or extent of her injuries, but I was led to believe that they are not life-threatening."

"Why don't we stop by sick-bay first, then," Callie said. This Robbins woman was supposed to be her right-hand-man, so to speak, and since Robbins had been effectively in command of the station during its setup phase, Callie would be relying on her extensively for the first few weeks.

"As you wish, ma'am." Yang led them into one of the central turbolifts. "Medical," she said as the doors closed. The turbolift began moving immediately. Callie stood, mesmerized by what she saw outside the turbolift windows. The central turbolifts ran through every deck of the _Seattle_, and their floor-to-ceiling windows allowed for a spectacular view of all of the various courtyards the station had to offer.

"Medical," the computer announced as the turbolift slowed and the doors slid open.

The _Seattle_'s medical complex was state-of-the-art. A full clinic that was large enough to service its potential population of fifty thousand, operating rooms, medical research labs—the works. Callie smiled at the thought that her medical bay was larger than some _ships_. Some ships that her fellow classmates at the academy were probably stuck commanding at this very moment. _Yep_, she thought. _This is awesome_.

Stepping out of the turbolift, Callie's visual examination of the reception area was interrupted by the sound of a very angry woman drifting down the corridor.

"Mark! Will you just give me some pain meds and fix me later? I'm supposed to be greeting the Commander! RIGHT NOW!"

"Hold your horses, Blondie," a male voice answered her. "You don't want to meet Torres with plasma burns all over your uniform."

Callie smirked as she heard the woman growl in response. "Doesn't sound like she's injured too seriously," she said, leaning towards Yang so she was out of anyone else's earshot.

"No, ma'am."

"Lt. Commander," a young red-headed woman behind the reception desk stood up and addressed the Vulcan, "is this…?"

"Yes, crewman. This is Commander Torres."

"Oh!" the young woman jumped in excitement and rushed over. "I'm Nurse Kepner," she said, fervently shaking Callie's hand. "It's so exciting to meet you ma'am! Welcome aboard!"

"Um, thank you," Callie said, leaning back from the woman, who had just slightly invaded her personal space. "It's nice to meet you too."

Kepner smiled excitedly. "I suppose you're here to check on Lt. Commander Robbins?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Right this way, ma'am!" The nurse practically skipped when she turned and began to lead Callie and Yang down the corridor Callie had heard voices coming from earlier.

"But she's going to think I'm rude, or, or…irresponsible!" whined the same angry voice from down the hall. "Seriously, just let me out of here!"

"Geez, Robbins, I'm almost done," replied the male voice.

Callie spotted a very sheepish-looking young ensign sitting on a bench just outside the room where the voices were coming from. Once he spotted her, his complexion paled significantly. Ignoring him for the moment, Callie stepped into the exam room and cleared her throat.

A short blonde woman and a tall blonde man—whom Callie immediately recognized as Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins, First Officer, and Dr. Mark Sloan, Chief Medical Officer—were the only occupants of the room. Robbins spotted Callie first and immediately hopped off the exam table to stand at attention.

"Commander Torres, it's an honor to meet you ma'am. Welcome aboard."

Sloan also turned around to see his commanding officer, his face cracking into a broad grin. "Cal!" he exclaimed. "Good to see you!" He walked over to her and enveloped her in a warm and bone-crushing hug. Pulling away, he grabbed her shoulders and held her so he could look at her. "How've you been?"

Callie's face matched her chief medical officer's. "Great, Mark! You?" Callie wasn't looking at Robbins, but if she had been, she would have noticed that the blonde seemed a little put off that she had been ignored.

"Couldn't be better," Sloan responded. "Really nice facilities here—I can get so much research done. I'm the future of medicine, I'm telling ya, Torres!"

"Lt. Commander," Callie said, turning to finally face Robbins, "You'll have to excuse us. Mark and I go waaaaay back."

"Yeah, we had quite a few….adventures at the academy," Sloan said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"So he's told me, ma'am," Robbins smiled, as she finally shook her commanding officer's hand.

Not that anyone cared, but Yang remained in the doorway and looked incredibly uninterested in the conversation. Callie would eventually come to realize that that was just the way her face always looked.

"So what is my first officer doing in sick-bay?" Callie asked. "From the holes in your uniform, it looks like you had some pretty nasty plasma burns."

"Which I would be already be done fixing if Blondie here would just sit still," Mark quipped, throwing a playful glare at Robbins for good measure.

"It's not a big deal, Commander," Robbins replied, after taking a second to glare black at Sloan. "Plasma conduit exploded on Deck 47."

Callie pointed behind her. "Is that why there's a sheepish looking junior officer in the hallway?"

Robbins' face turned a little sour at the mention of the ensign in the hallway. "Yes, Commander."

"I memorized most of the personnel files on the way over here. Ensign George O'Malley, Engineering. Correct?"

"Yes, ma'am, that's him," Robbins replied as she gritted her teeth. She was clearly trying (and failing) to hide her anger against the ensign.

"Need me to do anything?" Callie offered. She didn't know how experienced Robbins was at handling disciplinary issues. As first officer, that would be part of the Lt. Commander's job, but Callie was feeling generous at the moment. The woman had just suffered plasma burns, after all.

"No ma'am," Robbins replied. "I'll take care of it."

"Great." Callie responded. "Well, I'm going to head up to Command to meet the rest of the senior officers. I'll see you up there shortly?"

"Yes, Commander, I'll be up as soon as Sloan is finished."

"Excellent." Callie turned to leave the exam room. "Oh, and Robbins?" She stopped herself to say one more thing to her first officer. Robbins nodded her head expectantly. "Would you mind coming to my quarters for dinner tonight? I'd like to get caught up on how things have been going."

"Absolutely, ma'am," Robbins replied.

"Great."


	2. Chapter 2

Commander Callie Torres sighed as she leaned back in the comfy chair in her living room. A glass of wine in one hand, a PADD full of briefing reports in the other, her fireplace crackling to her left…there were perks to being the commanding officer. Including the fact that a delicious-looking crewman had stepped in a few minutes ago to set up for her meal with her first officer. Callie kicked up her feet and rested them on the footstool. Yep, life was good.

Sipping her wine (real wine—not the replicated stuff—another perk of being the boss), Callie thought back on her day. All in all, it had been a good one. Arriving, meeting the unnerving Lt. Commander Yang and the somewhat-feisty Lt. Commander Robbins, catching up with her long lost best friend Mark—it had all been nice.

After she left sick-bay, she had accompanied Yang to Command and met the rest of her senior staff. Her tactical officer, Lt. Commander Preston Burke, seemed arrogant and a little pretentious. But then, Callie had read his _very_ impressive record, so maybe he deserved to be arrogant. Her science officer, Lt. Meredith Grey, seemed to be friendly and competent, as did her sister and Callie's communications officer, Ensign Lexie Grey. Lexie came off as a little skittish, which Callie didn't find that surprising, seeing as she was fresh out of Starfleet Academy. Callie hoped Meredith would be able to reign in her younger sister's nerves. If not, Callie wondered if she should send Lexie to see the station's head counselor, Owen Hunt. Maybe he could help her be a little less…green.

Callie's head of engineering, Chief Petty Officer Richard Webber, boasted an impressive history with Starfleet. She had no doubt he'd keep the station's systems up and running, and she found it more than a little amusing how profusely he apologized for the plasma conduit incident involving his subordinate, George O'Malley, and the first officer.

Yes, it had been a good day, and she had been pleased with her command crew. She was currently reading over their personnel reports on how their departments were running. Dr. Sloan sang the praises of Dr. Miranda Bailey but wasn't too keen on Dr. Izzie Stevens. Security Chief Yang deemed Ensign Alex Karev's work to be acceptable, but she thought he could use a little more discipline and decorum. But Callie figured Yang thought everyone (with the exception of, well, Yang) could use a little more discipline and decorum. And, plasma conduit incident aside, Chief Webber thought Ensign O'Malley showed quite a lot of promise as an engineer.

"Excuse me, Commander?" the crewman who had been preparing her dinner popped his head into the living room. "Dinner is all set."

"Thank you Crewman," Callie said as she stood up, setting her wine glass down. "What was your name again?"

The crewman smiled in surprise. Working in the mess, he was unaccustomed to being noticed. "Crewman Jackson Avery, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you, Avery," Callie said as she shook his hand. "It smells great." He nodded and smiled. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, and Callie couldn't seem to figure out what he was waiting for. "So…?" she dragged out the word.

Crewman Avery looked a little uncomfortable. "Um, I can't leave until you dismiss me, ma'am."

"Right!" Callie said, realizing what he was waiting for. "Thank you crewman, you're dismissed." She was going to have to get used to that.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she noted that Lt. Commander Robbins would be arriving shortly. Aside from their brief meeting in sick-bay, Callie hadn't gotten much of a chance to speak with her first officer. Robbins had remained in Command while Callie had toured the station and tried to meet most of the crew.

_Well_, Callie thought to herself,_ I guess I'll see what Crewman Avery brought us for our dinner while I wait…_

* * *

Arizona straightened her uniform as she approached Commander Torres' quarters. She wanted to make a good impression to make up for earlier. Arizona had been flustered by her accident and pissed at O'Malley and—Arizona took a deep breath—and the day had just not gone how she wanted it to go! She was supposed to be down at the gate of the docking bay in dress uniform to formally welcome her commanding officer aboard. Then she was supposed to impress her with a tour of the Promenade and personally introduce her to the rest of the command crew. Instead she'd been sitting on an exam table in her ruined uniform. And on top of that, Commander Torres had been too preoccupied by her old friend, Dr. Sloan, to even really notice her. By the time Arizona made it up to Command, Torres had already met the entire senior staff and was in her office receiving a tactical briefing from Lt. Commander Burke.

Maybe Arizona had her hopes up too high. She had been three years behind Torres in Starfleet Academy, and then again at Starfleet Command School, and she had always idolized her from a distance. Callie Torres was something of an icon at the Academy. Torres had been first in her class, the leader of Nova Squadron, a Parisses Squares champion…there was no area in which the woman did not excel. And on top of that, Arizona was convinced she had never seen a more gorgeous woman in her life. When Arizona had heard that Torres had been given the post of commanding officer of the _Seattle_, Arizona had immediately requested a position on the station. If living three months away from home was the price she had to pay to _finally_ work with her role model, her hero, her…crush?, then three months didn't seem like such a big deal to Arizona. And being given the role of first officer? That was just a dream come true, as far as Arizona Robbins was concerned. So this dinner _had_ to go well. Commander Torres _had_ to like her.

Pressing the door chime, Arizona fidgeted with her uniform one last time as she waited for permission to enter. The door slid open, and she stepped carefully into her commanding officer's quarters. She had been in them before to check that everything was set for Torres' arrival, and it seemed as though Torres hadn't done any unpacking or personalizing.

"Hey!" Torres said cheerfully as she walked in from what Arizona knew was the dining room. "Come on in, come in!"

Arizona did her best to breathe normally and smile. "Thank you so much for inviting me." Torres seemed perfectly at ease, while Arizona could feel her palms beginning to sweat.

"Of course. We've got a lot to talk about!" Torres said, apparently oblivious to Arizona's discomfort. "I hope you're hungry. The guys from the mess sent us up some really nice steaks."

"Sounds great!" Arizona said as she followed the Commander into the dining room. She pondered for a moment if it was hotter in the Commander's quarters than in the corridor.

"Alright, well have a seat and dig in," Torres said with a smile. "Can I offer you some wine? It's the real stuff!"

"Ooh, yes please," Arizona replied. Dining with the Commander had its perks. The replicated stuff could still get you good and drunk but…it just wasn't quite the same.

"So, Arizona," Torres said as Arizona began to cut into her steak. "I was wondering—" Torres paused for a moment when she realized she had used the Lt. Commander's first name. "Is it alright if I call you Arizona?"

Arizona relaxed a little at her commanding officer's desire to call her by her first name. That implied that Torres at least didn't hate her. "Yes, ma'am, that's absolutely fine."

"Great!" Torres seemed pleased. "When we're on duty, you should probably stick to protocol, but in situations like this one, feel free to call me Callie."

"Oh," Arizona said, trying to hide her excitement at the prospect. "I'd like that, thank you Command—I mean _Callie._"

Torres, no—Callie, laughed. "It takes some getting used to. I remember the day that Professor Mason at the Academy told me to call him Bob. I was calling him "Profess-Bob" for a solid two weeks before I got used to it."

"The flight instructor?" Arizona asked before putting some asparagus in her mouth.

"Yep, that's the one," Callie smiled. "Anyways, I was wondering if you've had a chance to catch up with the politics of the region. One of HQ's biggest hopes for this place is that we'll be able to bring more inhabited planets into the Federation..."

Their dinner conversation continued along pleasantly enough. Callie picked Arizona's brain about regional politics, her plans for the influx of colonists, the first survey missions that were planned for nearby worlds, whether she thought a nearby colony of non-Federation humans would pose any problems, and other matters pertaining to station operations. Clearly Callie saw this as a business dinner, and not an informal "get to know your first officer" get-together. Arizona answered as thoroughly as she could, and Callie seemed to be satisfied with her answers.

"You up for some dessert?" Callie asked. Avery had brought some very enticing chocolate chip cookies.

"You will never hear me turn down junk food," Arizona laughed in reply.

Callie smiled in agreement. "Let's head to the living room."

Callie led them into the living room, and Arizona felt the mood shift. Maybe this wasn't just a business dinner. Callie didn't have the lights on very high, and the fireplace in the room (which made Arizona very jealous—why couldn't the first officer have a fireplace, too?) gave the room a cozy atmosphere. As Callie sat back in an armchair next to the fire and focused on her cookie, Arizona couldn't help but stare at how gorgeous her Commander looked in the flickering light of the fire.

"I'm a little jealous of your fireplace," Arizona started, anxious to avoid any awkward silences.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice, huh?" Callie took another bite of her cookie and moaned her approval. The hair on the back of Arizona's neck stood up.

"So have you made any friends here in the past month?" Callie asked. "I'm a little nervous about the social isolation of being a commanding officer."

Arizona's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected her commanding officer to be so…candid and revealing about her concerns. Usually commanding officers stood alone and aloof at the top.

"I mean, I love Mark, but I can't hang out with _only_ Mark," Callie continued.

Arizona felt her heart stop for a moment when Callie said that she "loved" Mark, but she quickly recovered. If they were a couple, wouldn't Sloan have said something about it before? _No_, Arizona told herself. _They're just old Academy buddies. Right?_

"Well I've gotten to know Miranda Bailey a little," Arizona said. "She's one of the doctors. And there's a security officer who works for Yang—Alex Karev. He's a pretty fun guy. But mostly I'm planning to hang out with my childhood friend, Teddy. She'll be arriving with the colonists. She's going to be heading up the Botany department that analyzes the specimens the survey teams bring back."

Callie snorted. "You're friends with a Botanist?"

"Hey," Arizona playfully objected. "That's my best friend you're talking about there."

"I'm sorry," Callie said continuing to laugh. "That just sounds like THE single most boring job EVER."

"Well not everyone can be a glamorous Starfleet Commander in charge of 16 sectors!" Arizona argued.

Callie raised an eyebrow. "Glamorous, huh?" The smile on her face let Arizona know that she hadn't overstepped. The two of them maintained eye contact just a little longer than was appropriate before Callie looked down to pick up another cookie. "Well, I'll be happy to meet your Botanist friend Teddy."


	3. Chapter 3

Commander Callie Torres was _not_ a morning person. At all. While some Starfleet officers became accustomed to the constantly changing time zones that accompanied travelling at warp speeds and visiting distant worlds, others felt an almost permanent sense of jet lag. Callie was one of the latter set, and she viewed being assigned to the _Seattle_ as her salvation—she would finally be able to keep a regular schedule. Still, until her body became accustomed to said schedule, mornings would continue to be an unpleasant experience for her.

As the computer delivered her morning wake-up call and filled her in on her schedule for the day, she groaned and slowly forced herself out of bed. Sleepily walking over to the replicator, she mumbled out a tired "Coffee, black." The hot beverage instantly materialized, and Callie allowed herself a moment to enjoy the first few sips. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Most people couldn't tell the difference between replicated and real coffee, but Callie had always been a bit of a food and beverage snob. She made a mental note to track down the hunky Crewman Avery and see if she could have a real coffee maker set up in her quarters. She figured that wouldn't be _too_ much of an extravagance. And she was commanding officer, after all.

After taking a quick sonic shower and getting dressed, Callie trudged crankily into Command to start her work day.

"Greetings, Commander," said a detached voice.

Callie jumped back at the noise; she had been practically sleep-walking to her office.

"My apologies for startling you, Commander."

Callie rubbed at her eyes in an attempt to wake up more quickly. "It's fine, Yang. What's up?"

"I have a security report to deliver, Commander."

"Right," Callie responded distractedly as she looked around the room. She smelled coffee. _Real_ coffee.

"Overnight we encountered…" continued the Vulcan.

"Hold up a minute, Yang," Callie said, raising a finger to pause her chief of security. Addressing the entire room, she said, "Do I smell coffee in here?"

"Yes, Commander," came an apologetic voice to her right. "I know it's not exactly protocol, but I had a real coffee maker installed in here. If you don't like the smell, I can remove it. It was careless of me to install it without asking you. I should have…"

Callie turned to follow the voice and her eyes landed on her babbling first officer. Callie was suddenly wide awake. She had had a good time last night. Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins seemed like an efficient and capable officer, to be sure, but Callie also had found her company to be enjoyable. They had held each other's gaze for a split second too long next to the fireplace, and Callie had felt a certain…spark. _Cool it, Torres,_ she thought. _You can't go getting any naughty ideas about your total babe of a first officer_.

"Robbins!" Callie held a hand up to shush the Lt. Commander.

"Yes, ma'am?" Callie couldn't be sure, but for a second it looked as if Arizona was flinching.

"Where is the coffee machine?" Callie was now on a mission—she needed coffee. Arizona pointed to the far corner of the room. "Oh, thank God!" Callie exclaimed as she headed towards the delicious aroma. She quickly poured herself a mug and took a gulp. "Mmm," she murmured contentedly as she closed her eyes and savored the taste. _This_ was real coffee. And exactly as strong as she liked it. If Callie had bothered to look around Command at that moment, she would have seen several amused smirks, a bored looking Vulcan, and a first officer who was currently staring at her hungrily.

After Callie had finished having her private little moment with the coffee maker, she turned around and headed back towards her command crew. Saluting Arizona with her mug as she passed by, she said, "Robbins, you're a life-saver." The first officer responded with a polite nod and suddenly looked quite pleased with herself.

"Now, Yang, what's up?"

* * *

After recovering from her initial panic that Commander Torres would be upset about the coffee maker, Arizona spent the rest of her morning seeing to fairly mundane issues. Lt. Meredith Grey had picked up some anomalous sensor readings a few days prior and had dispatched a probe to investigate, and the probe's preliminary report came in not long after Torres had disappeared into her office to spend more alone time with her coffee. Meredith had found the data to be interesting enough to merit further study, and after spending an hour or so examining the data herself, Arizona had authorized the lieutenant to take a shuttle and small science team on an away mission.

Chief Webber had then requested her presence in engineering, and she had tried not to glare _too _harshly at Ensign O'Malley as Webber had explained why he desperately wanted Arizona to approve his request for more staff and more backup generators.

And now Arizona was at her desk, without a whole lot to do besides avoid staring _too_ obviously at her commanding officer. Torres' office was, of course, equipped with a retractable window shade for privacy, but she didn't have it activated at the moment. That left Arizona with a remarkably clear view of Callie seated at her desk, talking animatedly with someone on her viewscreen. Arizona was mesmerized by her commanding officer's gorgeous smile, and she definitely approved of the high ponytail that Torres had chosen to wear for the day. Arizona was busy memorizing Callie's caramel complexion when Callie suddenly looked up from her screen and made eye contact with her. Arizona immediately looked down at her console and felt her cheeks flush—she'd been caught staring.

Thankfully, Ensign Lexie Grey chose to rescue the first officer at that exact moment.

"Lt. Commander?" Grey called out, asking for Arizona's attention.

"Yes, Ensign?" Arizona turned towards Lexie as she replied. She'd never been more thankful for the younger Grey's existence.

"The comms have been a little…spastic for the past few days so I ran a diagnostic and was trying to alter a few sub-routines and now…" Grey looked like a scared little girl.

"And now what?" Arizona asked, dreading the answer.

Grey now looked like she was about to throw up. "And now I'm pretty sure the comms are down on the entire station."

Arizona's eyes bulged out of her head. "What?!" she exclaimed so loudly that it make the younger Grey jump.

"I, I…" Lexie was now starting to really freak out. "I don't know how this happened!"

"You're the Comms Officer, Lexie!" Arizona berated. "It's your _job_ to know how this happened!" She left her station to walk around and observe what Lexie's console was showing.

This was bad. Besides life support, communications was about the last system you wanted going down. Without communications, teams couldn't coordinate, somebody in trouble couldn't ask for help, verbal commands to the computer would go unanswered, and they couldn't communicate with any ships outside the station. Arizona tried to decipher what she was seeing on Lexie's screen, but it had been quite some time since she had done _any_ work related to comms. Arizona had been a flight officer before she attended Command School.

"Are we having issues with the comms?" a voice called out. Arizona quickly lifted her head to meet her commanding officer's questioning gaze. Callie pointed behind her and into her office. "I was just in a briefing with HQ and I lost the signal."

"Yes, ma'am," Arizona replied. "The comms appear to be down."

Callie frowned in concern. "What caused it? How many decks are affected?"

Lexie and Arizona shared a nervous sideways glance with each other, neither one of them wanting to inform Commander Torres of the full situation. But Arizona was the first officer, so she nervously straightened her uniform and delivered the bad news. "We're still working on what caused it ma'am," she paused to look nervously at Grey again, "and the comms are down station-wide."

Torres' reaction was almost identical to Arizona's just a moment before. "What?!" she yelled. Ensign Grey jumped again. Arizona briefly observed that her commanding officer looked even more gorgeous (if that was possible) when she was furious. But that thought quickly left her head as she instinctively backed away from the raging Torres storming across Command.

Callie quickly read the data showing on Lexie's screen. "What the hell did you do, Grey?"

"I don't, I don't know," whimpered Lexie, on the verge of tears.

Torres took a moment to examine the young ensign. "Get off this deck, Grey," Callie said, her voice eerily calm.

"Wha—what?" Lexie stuttered as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Get out of here," Callie repeated with a little more agitation in her voice. She grabbed the ensign's arm and roughly pulled her out of her seat. Callie then took the comms station herself.

Lexie turned to Arizona apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't know how what I did could possibly—"

Arizona gently pulled the young ensign away from the Commander. "Lexie," she said in a hushed tone. "The Commander isn't mad at you because the comms are down. I'm mean, sure, she's not happy about it," she laughed lightly in an attempt to put the ensign at ease. "But the reason she's kicking you out of Command is because you're crying. You need to keep a cool head in here. When there's a problem, just deal with it. Don't freak out."

"Ok, ok, I'll try," Lexie nodded rapidly, trying to calm down and blinking back a few tears.

"Go and take a few moments to collect yourself, and then come back," Arizona instructed the young officer.

"Yes ma'am."

Arizona let out a frustrated exhale as Ensign Grey left Command. She then headed back over to the comms station to assist Callie. "Anything?" she asked.

Callie's eyes stayed glued to the screen as she replied. "I think I know what's wrong, but I'm not sure how to fix it yet." She looked up and scanned the room. "Where's Lt. Grey? I think she could give me a hand with this."

"I sent her on an away mission," Arizona replied. "She had some stellar phenomenon a few days away that she wanted to check out." Arizona couldn't be sure, but she saw what looked like a flash of anger in Callie's eyes. Callie stared harshly at her for a few beats before directing her attention to a crewman manning a station in the corner.

"Crewman, go find an engineer and bring them up here," she said, pointing the crewman towards the turbolift.

"Ma'am," the crewman nodded in acknowledgement as he exited.

"Robbins," Callie said, her eyes flashing back towards Arizona. "My office."

Arizona swallowed uncomfortably. The Commander didn't look pleased. Arizona felt her heart sinking as she followed Torres into her office and the door closed behind them. Arizona had been admonished plenty of times during her career—every Starfleet officer had. But Arizona wasn't sure she could take it from Callie. _This cannot be happening_, she thought to herself. She had finally gotten the chance to work for her hero, and now that hero was about to yell at her.

Arizona stood uncomfortably in front of Callie's desk while Callie settled into her chair. The Commander was silent for only a few seconds, but those seconds felt like an eternity to her first officer.

"Let me get this straight," Torres began. "You sent my _chief_ science on a several-day mission to examine _stellar phenomena_ without asking me?"

Arizona's eyes widened for a moment as she realized her mistake. She looked down at her boots, not quite sure that she could meet her commanding officer's withering stare at the moment. "Yes ma'am," she replied quietly.

"Robbins, send however many junior officers you want on whatever missions you want," Callie continued. "But you better have a damned good reason to send one of my senior staff on a low-priority mission, and you sure as hell better ask me first!"

"Yes ma'am," Arizona replied again, continuing to stare at her boots.

"Robbins?" Torres asked, forcing Arizona to finally meet her gaze. Instead of the earlier anger, Arizona now saw compassion shining out of the Commander's eyes. "Have a seat." Callie gestured to one of the chairs facing her desk. Arizona silently obliged.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is your first time as a first officer?" Callie inquired. Arizona nodded her head in the affirmative. Callie leaned back in her chair. "My first time as a first officer, I was posted on the USS Miami, with the 5th fleet."

"Captain Montgomery, right?"

"Yep," Callie nodded. "My first day, I totally messed the duty roster up, and Addison ended up being trapped outside in a shuttle for two hours because no one was manning the comms station on the bridge."

"Oops," Arizona said, cringing in sympathy.

Callie began to laugh at the memory. "She was sooooo pissed at me!"

"I've actually met the woman," Arizona replied. "I wouldn't want to see her angry."

Callie snorted. "That's an understatement." Callie smiled as she sat back up in her chair. "She and I laugh about it now, but I had to avoid her for weeks at the time. I'm not even exaggerating. Anyways, Robbins," Callie said as she shifted in her chair. "My point is that I've been in your shoes. Being first officer takes a while to get used to. And every commanding officer is different. In time, you'll learn what pisses me off."

Arizona smiled at her candor. "Thank you, ma'am. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Good," Callie said with a nod. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Oh, and Arizona?" Callie stood up to catch her retreating first officer before she got too far away.

"Yes, Commander?" Arizona said, quickly reappearing in the entrance to Callie's office.

"Make sure I haven't damaged Little Grey beyond repair."

"Yes, ma'am."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: For all of you non-trekkies out there...a Trill is an alien. They basically look like humans, but they have some cool spots on their skin. The reason why they're interesting is that they are symbiotic. A Trill can live normally without a symbiont (and most do), but certain Trill are selected to host a symbiont (it's like a worm shaped thing that goes inside the Trill's body). Their personality is then a mixture of the host and the symbiont. When the host dies, the symbiont can get a new host, and the symbiont keeps all it's memories. So the new host remembers previous hosts' lives. If you want to see what one looks like, just google "Jadzia Dax"...she was a Trill on ST:DS9. Jadzia is the host's name and Dax is the symbiont's name.**

"Teddy, it was _awful_!" Arizona groaned. "She probably thinks I'm a total moron."

"Well, it doesn't sound that way from what you've told me, hon," the Trill responded.

Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins sat cross-legged on her couch while she pouted at her best friend's face on the view screen. Much to her chagrin, the crewman Torres had sent in search of an engineer had returned with Ensign O'Malley, and O'Malley had fixed the comms in under thirty minutes. Then he had proceeded to explain what was a serious flaw in the communications systems, and had outlined a plan on how he could fix it. At that point, Arizona wouldn't have been surprised if Callie had promoted O'Malley to first officer and sent her down to work in waste processing. So here so was, dressed in sweatpants and an old Academy t-shirt, and moaning to her best friend.

"I just wanted to impress her _so_ badly, and between the whole plasma conduit thing yesterday and then the stupid away mission thing today…"

"Arizona, come on," Teddy argued. "The plasma conduit thing wasn't your fault, which I'm _sure_ she knows, and the away mission thing…did you really expect that you would _never_ do something that would irritate her? Everyone in Starfleet gets yelled at."

"I know, I just…" Arizona shrugged. "Teddy, all I can think about is kissing her."

"Ok, now you lost me. What does this have to do with getting yelled at?"

"She's just so_ gorgeous_, Teddy. I mean her hair, and her eyes!" Arizona was now off in her own little world. "Her lips just look so, so soft. And her ass is just about the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

"Helloooo?" Teddy waved her hands around the screen. "Earth to Arizona?"

"You're not on Earth," Arizona smirked. "And besides…that's more of a _human_ phrase."

"That's beside the point, Arizona. What I'm saying is—"

Arizona cut her off. "And she's got this effortless grace and poise. She is in _command_ and everybody knows it."

"Arizona!"

"She is a _goddess_, Teddy."

"Well are you going to worship this goddess from afar, or are you gonna do something about it?"

Arizona leaned back and sighed. "She's my commanding officer, Teddy. She's kind of…unattainable."

"Oh please," Teddy dismissed Arizona's argument. "Commanding officers have been banging their subordinates since the dawn of time."

"Teddy!"

"I'm just pointing out that your excuse is stupid. If you like her, you should do something about it."

"Hold on a sec, Teds," Arizona said when she heard her quarter's door chime, alerting her to a visitor. "Enter," she called out to the computer.

As Arizona stood up to greet her guest, the door slid open to reveal her commanding officer. "Commander!" Arizona said in surprise. Callie was the last person she had expected to come visit her in her quarters.

"Hey," Callie said as her eyes quickly ran up and down Arizona's body. Arizona suddenly wished she hadn't been so anxious to change out of her uniform when her shift ended that evening. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no, I was just chatting with Teddy," Arizona said, gesturing towards the viewscreen.

"Oooh, botanist Teddy?" Callie asked as she invited herself further into the apartment so she could see the woman on the screen. Apparently Callie wasn't nearly as angry with Arizona as Arizona thought she was.

"Yes," Arizona confirmed as she felt herself blushing. She didn't quite know how to respond to Callie's presence in her living room…especially when she was wearing sweatpants. She'd never experienced a commanding officer _this_ informal in her life.

"Hi botanist Teddy!" Callie said as she unceremoniously plopped herself down on Arizona's couch. "Callie Torres." Arizona stiffly sat back down on the couch and warned Teddy with her eyes that she better behave herself.

"Nice to meet you, Commander Torres," Teddy replied. "Although technically, we've already met."

Callie looked confused.

"Do you remember a security officer aboard the Miami named Marissa Dax?"

Realization dawned on Callie's face. "Are you Dax's new host?"

"Yes, I'm Teddy Dax" Teddy confirmed.

"And you became a _botanist_?"

"Commander!" Arizona scolded Callie under her breath.

"Sorry, that was a joke," Callie laughed. "I'm sure botany is, uh…fascinating. And it's good to see you again—we were all torn up when Marissa went down. I'm sorry for you loss, Dax."

"I appreciate that, thank you," Teddy replied. "Anyways, if you need Arizona, I can go…"

"Oh, it's nothing important," Callie said, turning to Arizona. Arizona felt a jolt go through her body when Callie's knee grazed against hers. "Mark and I were gonna head to the holodecks and do some rock climbing, and I stopped by to see if you wanted to join us."

"Oh," Arizona clasped her hands in excitement. "That would be super!"

Callie looked amused for some reason that escaped Arizona. "Great. Well then I'll see you in Holodeck 4 in a few minutes." She turned back to face the view screen. "It was nice meeting you Teddy. We'll have to get together after you guys arrive."

"Thanks, Commander, that sounds nice," the Trill replied.

After tracking her commanding officer's every movement out of her quarters, Arizona finally returned her eyes back to the view screen.

"Babe, you have got to stop using words like "super" around grown-ups."

"Oh, shut up, Teddy," Arizona whined.

"Also, if she wants to go rock climbing with you, I'm pretty sure that means she doesn't think you're a moron."

"Ok, ok, you're right, you win," Arizona held her hands up in defeat.

"And she was totally checking out your boobs."

* * *

"So Blondie! How do you like the view from down there?" Mark called down to Arizona, who was currently climbing just below her commanding officer. "Doesn't Torres have a nice ass?"

"Mark!" Callie growled towards her best friend. It was true. She did have a nice ass. But Mark didn't need to point that out. Callie peered down over her shoulder to look at her first officer. "You'll have to excuse my man-whore of a best friend, Arizona. He doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut."

"I will keep that in mind," came Arizona's response. Callie was pleased to see that Arizona was blushing and looked flustered. She must have agreed with Mark's comment.

"And I told you to stop calling me that!" Arizona called up to the doctor.

"Sure thing, Blondie!" he yelled back. Callie chuckled to herself. Mark could be a pain. He gave her a cheeky smile as he held his hand out to help her onto the top of the rock formation. They had chosen a famous climb from Betazed, and Callie thought the view was stunning. She could tell the difference between replicated and real coffee, but she couldn't tell a holographic environment from a real one. Callie turned to watch Arizona finish the last few meters of the climb, and, judging by the smirk on Mark's face, she was staring a bit too obviously at the amount of cleavage that was on display from this angle. She couldn't help it though—this view was even more stunning than the horizon.

"She does have nice boobs, Torres," he murmured in her ear.

"Shut it, Mark," Callie shot back at him, her face feeling flushed all of a sudden. When Arizona reached the edge, Mark leaned down to help her onto the top of the mountain as well.

"Enjoy the climb, Robbins?" he asked once she found her footing.

"Yeah, it's great," replied the blonde. "I've actually done this climb on Betazed before. It's much less nerve-wracking when you're in the holodeck with the safeties enabled."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Mark laughed. He looked down at his chest when his comm badge chirped. "Go ahead," he answered.

"Hey Mark," said a voice that Callie recognized as Lexie Grey's. "Torres and Robbins totally bitched me out over the comms thing today…"

Arizona made a little pout upon hearing the ensign complain about her.

"and I…uh…could use a little…distracting," Lexie's voice continued.

Callie raised an incredulous eyebrow in Mark's direction.

Mark looked a little sheepish. "Uh, yeah, Lex, I'll be right there," he said before ending the transmission.

"Seriously, Mark?" Callie leveled an unimpressed look at her chief medical officer. "She's like twelve."

He just shrugged and gave her an impish grin. "What can I say, Torres? She's got it where it counts."

"You're disgusting," Callie laughed. "But then, you also have the emotional maturity of a twelve-year-old, so maybe it's a perfect match."

"I will see you ladies later," Mark smiled. "Computer, exit." An exit appeared on the top of the rock formation and he sent one last dirty wink in Torres' direction before disappearing from view.

And suddenly Callie was left alone on top of a mountain with her gorgeous first officer.

"Sorry about that," Callie said, gesturing to where Mark had last stood. "He's just…well he's just Mark."

"It's fine," Arizona smiled. "My brother is quite the player himself. I'm used to it."

"You've got a brother?" Callie asked as she sat down next to Arizona. They let their legs dangle off the cliff and relaxed as the sun was setting beautifully in the distance.

Arizona nodded. "Timothy. He's an adjutant to Admiral Kyoto."

"Wow, two kids in Starfleet," Callie replied. "Am I sensing a family tradition?"

Arizona just laughed. "One of my ancestors served with Captain Archer on the very first Enterprise, and there's been a Robbins in Starfleet ever since."

"Damn. That's quite the lineage."

"Yup," Arizona smiled. "And Tim uses it to his advantage. All the girls wanna date the golden boy of Starfleet."

Callie laughed. "Yeah, I'll bet. You ever use the same advantage to get guys?"

Arizona turned to consider Callie for a moment and cocked her head to the side. "Not exactly, Callie. I was more interested in all the girls that were too busy falling over my brother to even notice me."

Callie looked back towards the horizon while she digested that last piece of information. Her heart skipped a beat at knowing that Arizona was interested in women. Callie had just assumed that Arizona was straight—most of the cute girls Callie met were. The issue that she was Arizona's commanding officer remained, but still…this revelation gave her the tiniest bit of hope.

"So uh," Callie cleared her throat, "Are you and Teddy…?"

"No, no, no, no," Arizona laughed. "Teddy and I are definitely just friends. Teddy definitely likes guys."

"Mmk," Callie murmured as she watched the light from the setting sun dance across Arizona's golden hair. She wanted so badly to brush a loose strand behind the blonde's ear, but she didn't.

And for the second time in as many days, Callie and Arizona held each other's gaze for just a little bit too long.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: For those of you who haven't seen it elsewhere, my boyfriend made me an awesome graphic to accompany this fic! Check it out on my tumblr page. fluffycalzonafics dot tumblr dot com (I've also put a link to the picture itself on my profile here on )**

**AN2: A Bajoran is just another alien. They look human but have these cute little ridges on their noses. They're pretty religious and they worship these weird aliens who live in a wormhole (lol I'm not making this up).**

"What kind of name is McDreamy's?" Callie asked with a laugh.

Arizona just shrugged in response.

"Seriously," Callie continued, turning towards her first officer. "We're supposed to just say 'I'll meet you at McDreamy's after work'? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Arizona glanced down at the PADD she was holding. "It says here it's McDreamy's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade, operated by a Bajoran named Derek Shepherd."

"You're kidding me," Callie said, even more amused.

Arizona shook her head.

"Oh, that's perfect. Derek Shepherd is Captain Addison Montgomery's ex-husband. He was our chef and bartender when I served aboard the Miami."

Commander Callie Torres was currently sitting in the Central Promenade with her first officer. Just over a week and a half had passed since her arrival on the _Seattle_, and as of three hours prior, the station was 100 percent ready for the first wave of colonists to arrive. Which was a good thing, seeing as the colonists had made good time and were due to arrive within the hour. Callie had realized that she had literally nothing to do except wait for the ships to dock, so she had invited Arizona to join her for an iced tea in the Promenade.

The two had explored many of the newly-completed shops and restaurants before sitting on a bench across from the Promenade's largest entertainment complex: McDreamy's. Despite the ridiculous name, Callie was looking forward to visiting the establishment once Derek Shepherd got it up and running. Maybe she could take Arizona out on a proper date.

A date. That was a difficult issue for Callie to decide on. Callie had had many pleasant interactions with her first officer since their rock-climbing expedition with Mark. She found that during the day, they worked very well with each other and complemented one another's abilities. And in her free time, she found that she just loved being in Arizona's presence. The two had become tennis partners, and although the exceptionally athletic Callie outclassed Arizona in that department, Arizona was still a challenging opponent. Arizona had her beaten at bowling, however. The blonde got a strike practically every time.

Callie had a strong desire to get to know her other officers as well, and had hosted a mandatory outing for the entire senior staff. She had selected a holodeck program that entailed sailing a yacht in the Gulf of Mexico, and had invited her officers out for a few hours of sailing, swimming, picnicking, and sun tanning.

Cristina Yang, who had objected to being forced to spend her time so unproductively, had spent the entire time discussing Starfleet's newly updated security regulations with Preston Burke. The weird part was that to Callie, it looked as if Burke was enjoying himself.

Mark Sloan, on the other hand, had spent most of his time ogling Callie, Arizona, Meredith Grey, Lexie Grey, and, to a certain extent, Yang. Lexie, however, was the only one ogling him back. Meredith had chatted happily with the group for a while, but had then drifted over to Yang. Curiously, she seemed to enjoy talking to Yang even more than Burke did.

And Callie and Arizona? They had spent most of the time with each other. Callie discovered that as hot as Arizona looked in her red command uniform, she looked impossibly hotter in her bright blue, barely-there bikini. Callie hadn't looked too shabby herself in her _slightly_ more tasteful red bikini, and the two women had come to some sort of unspoken agreement that they weren't going to acknowledge how openly they were gawking at each other's bodies. If Arizona hadn't known before the yacht trip that Callie was into ladies, Callie was certain that she knew now.

So yes, Callie wanted to ask Arizona out on a date. Fraternization with the crew wasn't expressly forbidden by Starfleet, but it was frowned upon because it could easily lead to some unpleasant situations. Callie and Arizona could potentially be commanding and first officer of the _Seattle_ for years, so if they started a relationship and it didn't go well, things could be messy and awkward. No, it was the wise thing to do to keep things professional. Asking Arizona out on a date was a very, very bad idea.

Except that Arizona was all she could think about.

"So do you know anyone else coming in the first wave?" Arizona asked after a short, but comfortable, lull in their conversation.

"Yeah, my entire family, actually," Callie replied. "My sister Aria and her husband Michael are both primary school teachers, so they'll be working in one of the station's schools. And then my parents are retired and have no purpose in life except to spoil their grandchildren, so they're coming too."

Arizona smiled at Callie's description of her family. "How many kids does your sister have?"

"Three," Callie said, a smile gracing her face. She adored her nieces and nephews, and missed them like crazy when she was out on assignments. "Gavin's 10, Troy is 8, and Hailey is 4."

"And are they all coming to live here just because of you?" Arizona asked.

"Pretty much."

"Wow, that's," Arizona paused. "They must really love you."

"We're very tight-knit," Callie replied. "They decided that if I'm going to be living here for years and it takes three months to get here to visit me, that it would be easier if we all just lived here."

"That's awesome," Arizona replied. "I have no idea when I'll see my family again."

"How about you?" Callie asked. "You got anyone you know coming besides Teddy?"

Arizona shook her head, looking a little disappointed. "Nope, she's it."

Callie gave Arizona's shoulder a gentle squeeze. She couldn't imagine being separated from her family for an extended period of time. And being three months away from Earth, it was highly unlikely that Arizona's family would be able to visit any time soon, if ever.

"Well if you're ever feeling a little lonely," Callie said, "I'd be happy to share my family with you." She knew that was an unusual thing to say to a person you'd known for a week, and an even more unusual thing for a commanding officer to say to a subordinate, but she meant it. She found herself wanting to integrate Arizona into every aspect of her life, family included.

"Um," Arizona's bright blue eyes shifted away from Callie uncomfortably. "Uh." Callie's first officer clearly had no idea how to respond.

"I'm sorry," Callie said quickly. "That probably sounded really weird." She silently cursed herself for making Arizona uncomfortable. "I just really really like you and I thought…"

Arizona's head popped up when she heard the words "really really like you" fall from her commanding officer's lips.

"What?" she interrupted Callie.

"I—" All the color drained from Callie's face and her eyes widened once she realized what she'd said. So much for keeping things professional. Callie's mind went into overdrive to find a way out of this situation. "All I meant was…" Callie stopped, her incomplete sentence hanging in the air. She was frozen. Callie Torres—hot shot Starfleet Commander, pride of Starfleet Academy, esteemed negotiator, and battle-hardened officer—had absolutely no idea what to say.

A mix of hurt and confusion shone out of her first officer's blue eyes. Arizona blinked back a tear or two as she turned her face away from Callie. "I have some, uh, some things to attend to in Command," she said quietly before she stood abruptly and head towards the turbolift.

"Arizona!" Callie called out to the retreating woman, who ignored her and kept on walking.

Well, shit.

* * *

Arizona Robbins was miserable. She'd always taken rejection excessively hard. It had been two days since the colonists arrived, and Callie had been avoiding her like the plague. Callie hadn't said a word to her since their conversation in the Promenade, and had somehow managed to find reasons to stay out of Command for two solid days. The only time Arizona had actually laid eyes on Callie recently was when Callie had come up to Command to show it to Admiral Johnson, the leader of the soon-departing expeditionary fleet.

So Arizona laid in her bed, curled around her pillow, and cried. She knew she had unhealthy expectations of what her relationship with Commander Torres could be. Arizona had been 14 years old when she'd first laid eyes on Callie. She'd always known that she wanted to go to the Academy instead of simply enlisting as a crewman, so she had been an avid fan of the Academy's athletics programs since she was a little girl. At 14, she had been mesmerized when Callie Torres, a 17-year old cadet, had effortlessly led Nova Squadron to yet another Rigel cup. Two months later, Callie Torres had shown up on Arizona's vid screen yet again as the MVP of the Academy's championship-winning Parrises squares team. Timothy had later let her know that "that hot chick she liked" was winning a debate competition that was being broadcasted, and when the term results were posted, Torres had walked away with the title of first in the freshman class.

Callie Torres became something of a household name—at least in households that kept up with happenings at the Academy—when she continued to win championships and finish first in her class. When Arizona had arrived at the Academy 3 years later, she had attended every single one of Callie's athletic and academic competitions just to catch a glimpse of the raven-haired beauty. The young Arizona had idolized Callie Torres, and she had striven to be just like her. After Callie had graduated from the Academy, Arizona had continued to keep tabs on her various posts and accomplishments.

And when Arizona had finally met her idol just two weeks prior, the small crush that she had always held for her role model had grown into something more. Which was why Arizona Robbins, a decorated Lt. Commander, and also first in her class at the Academy, was currently miserable. She had stopped admiring Callie Torres, the icon, and had started truly caring for Callie Torres, the woman. After spending quite a bit of time with her in social situations over the past two weeks, Arizona had begun to hope for something more than friendship with Callie. But after their awkward conversation in the Promenade and Callie's subsequent avoidance of her, Arizona was convinced that her commanding officer wanted nothing to do with her. Arizona was, in a word, crushed.

"Arizona?" Teddy's voice called from behind her bedroom door. Arizona's first officer quarters contained a second bedroom, so Arizona had asked her best friend to be her roommate. "Arizona?" Teddy knocked on the door a few times before it slid open. "Oh, Arizona," Teddy said with concern once she caught sight of her best friend huddled and sobbing on the bed. Teddy climbed into bed behind Arizona and held her tightly. "Shh, baby, it's ok. It's going to be alright."

* * *

**AN: Don't worry, I'll fix it ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks for everyone who has taken time to read it and comment so far. I really appreciate your thoughts and I hope you continue to enjoy it! :) Also, this is the last chapter I have currently finished, so the next update will take longer. And I posted a chapter earlier today already, so make sure you've read that first!**

* * *

Callie groaned as the computer woke her up. She glanced to the clock that rested next to her bed. Why in the hell was somebody waking her up at 3:17 in the morning?

"Ugghh," she growled. She did not want to have to be awake right now. Somebody had better be attacking the station. She sleepily made her way over to the console in her bedroom and answered the call. Cristina Yang immediately appeared on her viewscreen.

"My apologies for waking you, Commander," the Vulcan stated. To Callie, she didn't actually look sorry. She looked just as calm and detached as she always did.

"It's alright Yang," Callie grumbled as she rubbed her eyes. "What is it?"

"We had a bit of a situation in the Promenade this evening. A fight began in McDreamy's bar at approximately 2:20 this morning." If Callie hadn't been so pissed that she was awake in the middle of the night, she would have been amused by hearing the word "McDreamy's" coming out of the Vulcan's mouth.

"You woke me up for a bar fight, Yang?" Callie complained. "You're the chief of security. Can't you just handle it?"

"Under usual circumstances, Commander, I would. However, several Starfleet officers were involved in the fight."

"Lt. Commander Robbins is in charge of discipline when it comes to personnel, Yang. She's the first officer. You know that."

"It has come to light that First Officer Robbins was one of the primary participants in the brawl, Commander. And Admiral Johnson was sent to sick-bay, apparently from collateral damage."

"What?!" Callie exclaimed, immediately awake. And immediately pissed. As much as she liked Arizona, and as awful as she had felt about her the past few days, her first officer should know better. Much better. Getting in a bar fight was entirely unacceptable behavior for a first officer, and the fact that an admiral was hurt made it worse. "What the hell happened down there, Yang?"

"My security officers are still taking statements, Commander, but it appears that Lt. Commander Robbins, Ensign Karev, and a Trill scientist became involved in a heated argument with several colonists. It apparently came to blows and Admiral Johnson took a hard hit to the head when he was attempting to break it up."

"Is everyone alright?" Callie asked. On a personal level, she was concerned for Arizona, but on a professional level, she was worried about the admiral. Having an admiral injured in an unruly bar fight was not exactly what she wanted happening on _her_ station just two weeks after it became operational.

"According to Dr. Bailey, Admiral Johnson suffered a concussion, and Robbins had a superficial laceration on her face. The colonists fared a little bit worse, seeing as how Robbins and Karev have combat training and Karev is considerably stronger due to his Klingon heritage."

Callie let out a frustrated exhale and rested her forehead on her hand.

"May I have permission to demote Ensign Karev, Commander?" Callie couldn't be sure, but it appeared as if Yang had a slightly…happy…look on her face as she asked.

"I'll handle it Yang," Callie replied. "Where is Admiral Johnson now?"

"En route to your office, ma'am. As are Robbins and Karev."

"Thank you, Lt. Commander. Keep me posted."

"Yes ma'am."

Callie ended the call and let out a loud growl of agitation. This is _not_ what she needed. After angrily throwing her hair back in a messy pony-tail and getting back into her uniform, Callie stormed out of her quarters and towards Command.

* * *

Arizona Robbins stood quietly in her commanding officer's office, waiting patiently to be stripped of rank and dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. Next to her stood Ensign Alex Karev, whose Klingon blood and adrenaline were still pumping from the fight. She was concerned about the repercussions for Karev. She'd started the fight, and he'd only been defending her.

Across the room, leaning against Callie's desk, was a very, very pissed Admiral Johnson. It was an unwritten rule in Starfleet that the only person allowed to yell at you was _your_ commanding officer, so he just sat there, seething and biting his tongue. All three of them looked up when the door slid open to reveal a furious and unkempt looking Commander Callie Torres. She angrily looked from Karev to Arizona quickly before crossing the room to speak with the admiral. After a few moments, she nodded to the admiral and took her seat at her desk. Then she proceeded to exhale slowly and rest her head in her hands.

"Karev," she said, not bothering to look up. Her voice was frighteningly calm and collected, and it sent a shiver down Arizona's spine. "For the next month you will perform your duties during the day, and then you will report immediately to your quarters. No visitors, no holodeck time. You will do your work, and then you will sit in your bunk."

Next to Arizona, Karev nodded solemnly. He could have objected and claimed that the fight wasn't his fault, but he simply accepted the consequences. She continued to be impressed with Karev—he maintained a "tough guy" exterior, but he was an honorable and generally friendly colleague. If a little rough around the edges.

"Now get out of my office."

Arizona swallowed hard as the Klingon exited. She was now all alone with a very pissed Admiral and very pissed Commander. And she was quite possibly in love with the latter. Arizona supposed she should be crying or freaking out. Her career with Starfleet, everything that she knew, was about to end. It just felt surreal.

After several long moments, Callie finally lifted her head to look at Arizona. Arizona felt herself shudder. There was fury in Callie's eyes.

"I don't even know what to say to you, Robbins."

"Commander, I—"

"No!" Callie cut her off. Callie's calm voice was gone now. "You don't get to talk."

Arizona snapped her mouth shut and braced herself for the tirade she knew was coming.

"It was an _honor_ for you to be given this assignment, Lt. Commander. You were given the position of first officer on a station that Starfleet has poured almost unlimited resources into. You were hand-picked by the admirals on the Federation Council and the Starfleet Chief of Staff to assume this role, and you got into a _bar fight_?"

Arizona stood still, hands clasped behind her back and head hung, as she waited for her hero to continue tearing her apart. She felt tears gathering in her eyes, but fought hard to keep them back. This was not the time to cry.

"You are the _first officer_. The entire crew looks to _you_ for an example in discipline and protocol. The colonists look to _you_ as a primary representative of the government that will be overseeing them as they live and work here. As my first officer, you are seen on this station as _my_ personal representative, and you make commands on _my_ behalf and using _my_ authority. You have not only brought disgrace upon what it means to be a Starfleet officer, but you have made _me_ look like an ass!"

Arizona squeezed her eyes tight shut as she continued to wait for her commander to finish. Callie was in full rage mode now, up from her chair and pacing behind her desk.

"I'm sure all the colonists have a lot of trust instilled in my leadership capabilities now that my first officer is getting into bar fights and beating up civilians! And Yang's security report is gonna make us look _really good _to Starfleet Command, Robbins!"

Callie stopped pacing and let out a furious huff. Admiral Johnson continued to lean against the desk with a solemn look on his face. "I just," Callie stopped, grasping for words. "What the HELL WERE YOU THINKING, ROBBINS?!"

Callie yelled so loudly that Arizona jumped ever so slightly. A few tears had managed to streak down her cheeks, despite her best efforts.

"Just…just get out of here," Callie finished. "You're confined to quarters until I can figure out what the hell I'm gonna do with you."

* * *

Callie Torres was lying on the couch in her office, staring at the ceiling. Admiral Johnson, Robbins, and Karev were long gone, and Callie had never felt so impossibly conflicted in her life.

The commanding officer in her was still furious. This was bad, no matter what way you looked at it. Arizona was first officer, and she had dramatically failed to live up to that standard. A young ensign like Karev could get away with an off-duty bar fight with just a slap on the wrist, but a Lt. Commander? A first officer? That came with an entirely different level of expectations. The first officer represented the leadership of the entire station. She couldn't physically assault civilians, no matter how badly she'd been provoked.

The Starfleet officer in her knew that this called for a demotion. An official reprimand. Removal of Robbins as first officer. Possible reassignment to a less important station or vessel.

But the woman in her? The woman in her wanted to sweep the whole thing under the rug, run to Arizona's quarters, and hold her.

Callie had meant every word she had said to Robbins a few hours earlier. She had been correct, and she had been justified, in everything she'd said. But it had also cut Callie to the core to have to say those things. To have to stand there and yell at Arizona while Arizona just stood there and took it—Callie had never had a more awful experience during her entire career in Starfleet.

_And this is why you don't develop feelings for members of your crew, Torres_, she had silently chastised herself. _This is why_.

About two hours after she'd sent Arizona back to her quarters, Yang had sent over the final security report, and its contents had left Callie even more conflicted—Arizona had been defending her commanding officer's honor. She'd been protecting Callie. _Callie_ was the reason Arizona had thrown a punch.

According to Yang's report, Arizona, Teddy, and Karev had been sitting at a table in McDreamy's. Witnesses claimed that Arizona appeared to be emotionally distressed, and had been drinking heavily all night. At just after 2 a.m., three civilians had approached their table, and one of the men became involved in a heated argument with Arizona. At approximately 2:20, Arizona punched the man in the face, and a larger fight had broken out.

The security footage wasn't at a great angle to see Arizona's facial expressions, but the punch was crystal clear, and Callie couldn't help but feel impressed. The man had been twice Arizona's size, and she had knocked him off his feet. Her first officer knew how to hit.

The part of the report that had left Callie feeling even worse was the collection of statements that Yang had taken from those involved in the fight.

The man Arizona had punched was an accountant named Aaron Matthews. Aaron was the younger brother of a Lt. Rachel Matthews, who had served with Callie aboard the USS Miami. Callie had authorized Lt. Matthews to lead an away mission, and during the course of the mission, things had gone horribly wrong and Lt. Matthews had been kidnapped and raped. She had been traumatized and had quit her career as a Starfleet officer. Apparently, Aaron had blamed Callie for his sister's rape and ruined career because Callie had authorized the mission. When he had recognized Arizona as Callie's first officer, he had approached her.

Aaron, who had also been intoxicated, had demanded to have an appointment with Callie. When Arizona had summarily dismissed his request, he had begun to hurl out insults aimed at both Callie and Arizona. Arizona and Aaron had yelled back and forth for a few minutes, until Aaron started to threaten physical violence against Callie. When he had finally insisted that he was going to track Callie down and "rape the little bitch," Arizona punched him in the face. And that was that.

So as Callie lay on the couch in her office, continuing to blankly stare at her ceiling, she knew that she had a decision to make. Her better judgment was telling her to demote Arizona and send her back to Earth for reassignment. A good, clean break. With any luck, they'd never see each other again.

But Callie hadn't gotten this far in her career by always listening to her better judgment. Callie was a very instinctual woman, and her instincts had almost always served her well. Those very same instincts were now telling her that Arizona Robbins was one hell of an officer, and that Callie wasn't ready to let her go.

* * *

Callie stood waiting impatiently outside her first officer's quarters. She was beginning to think that Arizona was simply choosing to ignore the door chime, and was considering using her command override to just open the damn door.

"Please state your identification," the computer finally spoke, indicating that Arizona wanted her visitor to identify themselves before she opened the door.

"Callie Torres," the Commander quickly replied. She continued to wait, the door showing absolutely no indication of opening.

The door finally opened to reveal a tired looking Teddy. She quickly stepped outside the door and let it close behind her.

"Hey, Dax," Callie said with a sad smile. She'd been avoiding Arizona since the colonists arrived, so she hadn't actually gotten a chance to see the new host of her old friend.

"Hey, Cal," Teddy replied with the same sad smile. She leaned in to give Callie a hug.

"It's good to see you again," Callie murmured in the Trill's ear.

Teddy gave her a little squeeze before releasing her.

"How is she?" Callie asked. "I want to see her."

"Callie," Teddy paused. "Now is just not a good time. She hasn't spoken a single world since she got back."

"I need to see her, Dax," Callie pleaded. "Please, please let me in."

Teddy considered Callie for a few moments, intently searching the Commander's eyes for some sign that she had come to inflict further pain. When she found none, she silently nodded and opened the door for Callie, remaining in the hallway herself.

Callie stepped inside the darkened room, and her heart dropped in her chest when she caught sight of her first officer. Arizona sat curled up into a tight little ball on the couch, her hair wet and messy from a recent shower, and her eyes red and puffy from crying. _Oh, Arizona_.

Callie quietly stepped around Arizona's coffee table. Sitting gingerly on the couch, she waited for Arizona to acknowledge her presence. However, Arizona refused to look up, and continued to sniffle gently into her bent knees. Callie inched closer to the distraught woman. "Arizona?" she said in a small and hesitant voice.

That was all it took. Somehow, before Callie really knew what was happening, she found her arms wrapping tightly around Arizona as the smaller woman clutched at Callie's uniform and began sobbing uncontrollably into her chest. "Oh, Arizona," Callie said soothingly, pulling Arizona further into her lap and placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Sweetheart, shh, it's gonna be ok."

Arizona continued to cry and was struggling to calm her breathing down. "Shh," Callie soothed as she rubbed Arizona's back in an attempt to comfort the blonde. "Shh, everything's gonna be alright." Callie placed a soft kiss on Arizona's forehead before placing a hand on Arizona's tear-stained cheek. "Arizona, look at me."

The blonde continued to struggle to breathe normally, but finally managed to lift her blue eyes to meet Callie's gaze. Arizona started to breathe a little more deeply as Callie wiped a few tears away with her thumb and gave her a sad smile. "There you are," Callie murmured.

"I'm sorry, Commander," Arizona finally whispered. Her voice was so quiet that Callie could barely hear her, despite their proximity.

Callie tucked a strand of Arizona's hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, too."

Arizona looked down and nodded, finally starting to get a hold of herself. She pulled away from Callie so that they were now both seated on the couch and facing the coffee table. Arizona took a moment to wipe her face completely dry and her breathing returned to normal.

"You ok?" Callie asked.

Arizona nodded.

"K," Callie said, never taking her eyes off her first officer. "Arizona," she started. "I'd love to just forget about what happened last night, but you know that I can't."

Arizona nodded in agreement.

"I'm your commanding officer."

Arizona nodded again.

"I'm going to put you on probation. You'll be demoted to lieutenant, and removed from the position of first officer. At the end of the next six months, if your performance has been satisfactory, you'll get your rank and position back, and I'll have this expunged from your permanent record."

Arizona looked up at Callie with a mixture of pain and gratitude in her eyes. Other commanding officers might have suggested that Callie was being too soft, showing too much mercy. But Callie didn't care. This seemed like punishment enough to her.

"Thank you, Commander," Arizona whispered. "I promise you, I won't…I won't let anything like this happen again, I swear."

"Hey," Callie said, reaching out to give Arizona's hand a squeeze. "If he'd said those things about you, I'd have punched the bastard, too."

Arizona gave her commander a small smile. Callie grinned in return. It was good to see a smile on Arizona's face again.

"Well," Callie said as she stood up from the couch. "Take the rest of today off, and then report in tomorrow morning. I'll push Burke to first officer, and you can take tactical."

Arizona nodded in acknowledgement.

Callie took one last look at Arizona to make sure she was ok and then headed towards the door. She stopped when she got to it, facing a moment of indecision. _Oh, the hell with it, Torres_.

"Arizona?" she said, turning back towards the blonde. "I know this is like…the worst timing in the history of the universe, but would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I have posted several chapters in a row now, so PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ THE EARLIER CHAPTERS FIRST.**

**AN2: Ok, I lied. Another fast update. I got inspiration and stayed up til 3 last night writing this lol. But now I've seriously got to get some school done so it really will be awhile.**

**AN3: This chapter is a lot more..."star trekky" than previous ones. If you're not a fan of it, just bear with me for this chapter. Quick guide to help you out: Klingons are a warrior race with a tense history with the Federation. A bat'leth is a ceremonial Klingon sword. A Bird-of-Prey is a type of Klingon spaceship. "Qapla'" is essentially the equivalent of wishing someone success. The Borg collective is hard to explain...they basically "assimilate" other species and turn individuals into drones. The drones lose all of their individuality and are all linked together in a hive mind. A major part of ST:VOY is centered around Seven of Nine, a former borg drone. A lot of people ship Seven with Captain Janeway. It was mainly subtext (I myself never picked up on it and always viewed them as more Mother/Daughter lol). Jeffries tubes are these small little corridors that you can climb through to get around a ship.**

**AN4: Let me know how you guys are feeling about the pacing of this. Do you want more sci-fi action? More drama in the romance department?**

* * *

Lieutenant Arizona Robbins sat quietly at the tactical officer's station in Command. She was busy catching up on the past months' worth of tactical briefings, and she was quickly learning that being the tactical officer of a very well-defended station wasn't nearly as exciting as being its first officer. She sighed in boredom as she read the technical specifications of the _Seattle_'s weapons systems. After she couldn't take it anymore, she chanced a look around the command center to see what her fellow officers were up to.

Lt. Commander Preston Burke was standing proudly at the first officer's station. He'd arrived in Command before Arizona that morning, and he'd given her a smug look as she'd trudged to tactical. She'd have loved to wipe that smug grin right off his face, but she'd just clenched her fists and kept her head down. No need to go punching anyone else quite so soon. The Grey sisters, on the other hand, had given her scared smiles and looked away. It was clear they didn't know how to react to the rumors of a bar fight and the sudden change in senior staff personnel.

Arizona rubbed her temples and sighed as she turned back to her console. It had been a hell of a few days. First Callie had ripped her heart out of her chest and avoided her. Then she'd gotten in a drunken bar brawl. Callie had then trampled all over her already torn-out heart by delivering the worst tongue-lashing she'd ever received. And finally, Callie had come to her quarters, held her while she cried, demoted her, and then asked her out on a date. Arizona found herself longing for the days when her life was more boring. _Maybe this snore-fest of a tactical position isn't such a bad thing_, Arizona joked darkly to herself.

Arizona groaned internally when she thought of the state Callie had seen her in. Arizona Robbins was a private, independent person. She didn't like showing weakness or vulnerability to anyone, and certainly not to her boss. And it only made it worse that her boss also happened to be her life-long hero and the woman that Arizona found herself falling for.

Still, despite how horrible the past few days had been, Arizona couldn't help but feel a small glimmer of hope. Commander Callie Torres, the woman she admired more than anyone else, had asked her out. Had held her, cuddled her, comforted her. Getting yelled at sucked, getting demoted sucked, and getting fired from being first officer sucked, but at least there was a silver lining. Callie Torres liked her. Callie Torres wanted to go on a date with her. Life was good.

"Morning, everyone!" Callie called out as she stepped into Command, jerking Arizona out of her thoughts. She sat up a little straighter.

"Burke, whadda we got today?" the Commander asked as she headed straight for the coffee machine. Arizona watched Callie intently as she poured the coffee and Burke prattled on about the station's activities for the day. Callie hadn't yet looked over in Arizona's direction, and Arizona was dying to make eye contact with her commander.

"Alright, sounds good," Callie replied as soon as Burke had finished. "Keep it up." She then headed towards her office. She still hadn't looked at Arizona, and Arizona was feeling antsy. She needed Callie to look at her, to acknowledge her. Luckily, the tactical station was on Callie's path to the commander's office and Callie stopped when she reached Arizona.

"Can I see you in my office, Robbins?" Callie said. Her voice and face were all business. Did she regret asking Arizona out?

Arizona swallowed. "Um, yes, ma'am. Right away." She stood and followed Callie into her office. Callie immediately activated the privacy shade and Burke and the others were soon out of sight.

Callie's face softened and her breathtaking smile appeared. "Hi," she said, looking at Arizona warmly.

"Hi," Arizona replied, rocking back and forth on her feet uncomfortably. All of a sudden, she had no idea what to do with her arms and legs.

"How um," Callie inched a little bit closer to her and nervously touched the tips of Arizona's hair. "How are you?"

"I'm, I'm good," stuttered the blonde. This was new for Arizona. Callie almost seemed…uncomfortable. Anxious. Awkward. Three things she'd never seen Callie be before. She was accustomed to seeing Callie Torres be the epitome of confidence, the quintessential Starfleet commanding officer.

"Good," Callie replied shyly, her hands falling down to grasp each of Arizona's. She gave them each a little squeeze. Arizona felt her heart start to beat faster. A _lot_ faster. She wanted nothing more than to step forward and hold her commander tightly against her.

"We still on for tonight?" Callie asked nervously. Arizona smiled internally at how un-badass Callie was being at the moment. It was endearing seeing her like this.

"Yeah," Arizona nodded.

"Good," Callie said, still appearing as nervous as before. "Arizona?" she asked, fear in her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Can I…can I hold you?"

Arizona blushed. _Of course you can hold me. You can hold me forever_. "Um, su-sure," she squeaked out.

Callie gave her a relieved smile as she pulled the blonde into a tight embrace. Arizona closed her eyes and sank into Callie's body as Callie ran her hands up and down the blonde's back. This felt good, perfect even.

"I'm so sorry I had to yell at you," Callie mumbled.

"Me too," Arizona joked. She loved the vibrations she felt as Callie chuckled. Callie pulled out of the hug and tenderly kissed Arizona on the cheek.

"So can you meet me at Holodeck 2 around 5:30?" Callie asked. Arizona nodded. "Great," Callie smiled. Callie smiled stupidly for a few seconds. "Oh!" she said, her brain apparently kicking in again. Arizona giggled. She could get used to this side of Callie.

"Have a seat, quick," Callie said as she headed towards her desk. Arizona silently obliged. "I've got some actual work for you to do," Callie said with a smirk.

"Aww man!" Arizona joked.

Callie smiled as she handed Arizona a PADD from a pile on her desk. "As you know, we're orbiting the planet SG-502."

Arizona nodded. The Federation had ceased to name planets long ago. If a world was colonized, an informal nickname would usually catch on, and its citizens could petition for an official name change. But until then, it was usually just a number.

"A lot of the long-term sustainability of this station depends on the successful colonization of 502, and the first set of colonists is set to head down in about two weeks."

Arizona nodded again; she knew all of this.

"Well anyways, most of the plans for the colony are all set, but I just want to make sure their defenses are set up correctly. Obviously the _Seattle_ can protect the colony, but just in case."

"Sure, I'll take a look," Arizona said as she skimmed through the contents of the PADD. This would be a lot more interesting than running system diagnostics on the _Seattle_'s energy shields.

"Thanks," Callie smiled. "Feel free to take a shuttle down there if you need to see the colony build site first hand. I hear it's really pretty."

"Will do, Commander."

* * *

"So uh, what are we doing in here?" Arizona bounced back and forth on her feet. Callie found it adorable. The two of them were currently standing in an empty Holodeck 2.

"Do you like action-adventure holoprograms?" Callie asked. "Mark recommended a new one to me. Apparently he and Lexie did it last week."

Arizona raised an eyebrow. Callie immediately felt nervous. Maybe she should have picked something a little more…romantic for their first date.

"Um," Arizona looked surprised and amused. "Sure, I guess."

"Mmk," Callie replied, still not sure this was the best idea. But Mark had made it sound really fun, and she'd been wanting to try it with the blonde for a while.

"Computer," Callie commanded. "Begin holoprogram 'Attack on the USS Voyager'."

"Select difficulty," the computer responded.

"Umm, normal?" Callie shrugged.

"Select side, defensive or offense."

"Offense," Callie smirked. For some reason she loved playing the "bad guys" in holoprograms.

"We're gonna attack the crew of the Voyager?" Arizona looked stunned. Callie smirked. Suddenly Arizona "I'm gonna punch you in the face" Robbins was a non-violent goody-two-shoes.

"Select species: Borg, Hirogen, Species 8472, Klingon, Romulan."

"When did the Klingons or Romulans ever attack the Voyager?" Arizona scrunched her face in confusion.

"Beats me," Callie laughed. She hadn't studied Starfleet history in years, and they'd only spent a few class periods on the Voyager's historic journey through the Delta Quadrant. "And it's fictional anyways."

Arizona let out an annoyed huff of air. Apparently the blonde was a bit of Starfleet a history buff.

"Let me guess, Little Miss History Book," Callie teased. "You had an ancestor on the Voyager?"

"Yes, Callie, I did," Arizona responded. Her body stance was one of pride and superiority.

Callie rolled her eyes.

"Computer, is Junior Science Officer Edward Robbins an integral part of the plot?" Arizona asked.

"Negative."

"Then please remove him from the program."

"Alteration complete."

When Callie gave Arizona a questioning look, Arizona shrugged and said, "What? I'm not gonna shoot my ancestor."

"Uh huh," Callie responded. Arizona was being petulant and adorable. "So can we be Klingons? I'm sorta in the mood to use a bat'leth."

Arizona made a pout. "But I don't wanna be ugly."

"Oh, please," Callie rolled her eyes again. "Computer, we'll be Klingons, but please maintain our physical characteristics."

"Holoprogram ready," the computer responded.

"Begin," Callie commanded.

The empty holodeck suddenly looked like the bridge of a 24th century Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Callie and Arizona both looked down to see that they were now wearing traditional Klingon uniforms and were equipped with bat'leths, photon grenades, and phaser rifles. They also each had a few medical packs that could be used to restore their virtual "health" or bring the other one back to life if they should go down. As long as one of them stayed up, the program would continue.

Callie grinned. She loved being a Klingon in holoprograms. As far as she was concerned, Klingons were the epitome of badass. She would have preferred if Arizona had let them go all out and let the computer alter their appearances to actually look like Klingons, but she supposed this was good enough. She consoled herself that Arizona probably _did_ look better as a human. Although Callie thought she looked pretty freaking hot in her Klingon get-up.

"Attention Bekks!" a massive and imposing Klingon addressed the two women. Callie smiled to herself. _This is awesome!_ She'd have to thank Mark later. She looked over to smile at Arizona, and was rewarded with a smile and a wink from the blonde.

"We have located and disabled the USS Voyager, but they took out our weapons in the process," the Klingon continued speaking to them. "Your mission is to take a shuttlecraft to the Voyager, place explosives on its warp core, and then escape the ship before it explodes." A large grin spread across Callie's face. This was going to be good. "We will wait for your signal and beam over the explosives when you're ready." Callie and Arizona both nodded back at the Klingon. "Qapla'!" he exclaimed.

"Qapla'!" Callie replied back excitedly. She turned to look at Arizona, who was currently laughing at her. "Aww, come on," Callie pouted. "Get in character!"

"Qapla'," Arizona saluted her back with absolutely no enthusiasm.

"Arizona…" Callie narrowed her eyes and tried to be playfully threatening.

"Qapla'!" Arizona said, this time with much more energy.

"That's better," Callie nodded. "Now let's go kick some Starfleet butt!"

* * *

"Shit shit shit!" Arizona exclaimed, immediately pulling her head out of the doorway, closely missing some phaser beams. "Callie, there are like 10 guys in that hallway!"

"Here, use a photon grenade," Callie said, tossing one to her tactical officer.

"Thanks," Arizona said. "Okay, here goes nothing!" She turned the grenade on and chucked in into the corridor. Callie and Arizona braced themselves as a huge explosion ripped through the ship.

Callie chanced a glance down the hallway and saw a bunch of dead Starfleet officers. "Nice throw, babe!" she said, turning back towards Arizona.

"Why thank you," Arizona smiled, bowing for a little flourish. "After you," she said, gesturing to the severely blown up corridor.

"Alright, let's find an information screen to see which deck Engineering is on," Callie chewed on her lip, thinking hard. They couldn't just walk into a turbolift and say "Engineering"—the computer would recognize them as intruders and ignore their voice commands.

"It's on Deck 11," Arizona responded automatically.

"How do you just _know_ that?" Callie asked incredulously. Arizona just shrugged. "Nerd," Callie smiled and shook her head. "So tell me, Lieutenant, do you know what deck we're on now?" They had landed their shuttle in Voyager's shuttle bay.

"Deck 10," Arizona chirped. She was feeling quite pleased with herself. Her family's history had always been very important to her, and she'd spent hours as a child pouring over the technical schematics and ships' logs of the various ships her ancestors had worked on. She could spout off the name, rank, and significant missions of each and every Robbins in the family's long Starfleet history.

"Oh, sweet!" Callie responded. "So we've just got to get down one deck."

Phaser fire interrupted their conversation. "Eeek!" Arizona let out a little scream as she grabbed Callie and pushed her into a room and out of the line of fire.

"Whoa!" Callie yelled, noticing three Starfleet officers in the room. She grabbed her bat'leth and cut the first one down, but phaser fire from the second depleted all of her virtual health. Her weapons dematerialized, indicating that she was "dead."

Arizona fired off two quick bursts from her phaser rifle, quickly dropping both of the remaining Voyager crew.

"Nice!" Callie complimented. "You've got some moves, Arizona." Arizona smiled at her. "Now come get me up."

"I've got you covered, Callie," the blonde smiled, slapping a med pack on the Commander. Callie's weapons rematerialized as her health regenerated. "Let's hide behind these crates and wait for the guys that were in the hallway," Arizona suggested.

"Good idea."

Callie and Arizona both crouched behind the crates, waiting for the door to open.

"I have to admit," Arizona smiled. "This is really fun." When Callie had first suggested an action-adventure holoprogram, Arizona had been disappointed. She'd been hoping for something…more romantic. Maybe kayaking in a bay at sunset and then a picnic and making out on the beach. Or dinner at an outdoor café in Paris followed by some wine (and making out) in a hot tub. Basically Arizona had wanted food and kissing, and had gotten neither so far. So she was surprised at how good a time she was having.

"I'm glad," Callie responded, just as the door slid open. They quickly ducked to avoid incoming phaser fire.

"Computer, pause program," Callie commanded suddenly. Arizona gave her a questioning look. "Was that," Callie peered over the crate. "Is that Seven of Nine?"

Arizona popped her head over the crates to see what Callie was looking at. There, standing just inside the room, was former Borg drone Seven of Nine, flanked by a few security officers. "Yep," she replied.

"Huh," Callie responded slowly. "I never realized she was so…hot."

Arizona giggled. Seven of Nine had always been one of her historical crushes. The USS Voyager was a very prominent ship in Starfleet history, and besides its Captain, Seven of Nine was perhaps its most famous crew member. Captain Janeway and the Voyager crew had severed Seven of Nine's connection to the Borg Collective, and had slowly helped her to reclaim her humanity. Seven of Nine had gone on to be one of the most accomplished officers in Starfleet, obtaining the rank of Admiral before she retired.

"Actually, there were rampant rumors that Janeway and Seven fell in love and lived together until they died, but it's never been confirmed," Arizona informed her commanding officer.

"Seriously?" Callie asked, clearly enthralled by their conversation topic.

"Mm hmm," nodded the blonde.

Callie sent another glance in the Borg drone's direction. "Way to go, Janeway," Callie exclaimed. She appeared to be impressed that Janeway had been able to nail such a babe. Her reaction was met with another giggle from Arizona.

"Alright, you ready?" Callie asked. Arizona nodded. "Computer, resume." The two women blasted away at the incoming Starfleet officers. Seven of Nine proved to be a much larger threat than any enemy they'd encountered thus far, so Arizona assumed she was some kind of "boss character" in the holoprogram's narrative.

"Nice job!" Callie complimented as soon as they had downed all the enemies. "Alright, let's hop in those Jefferies tubes and get down to engineering."

"Lead the way!" Arizona grinned after her commanding officer.

* * *

"Toss me another explosive?" Callie called out to Arizona. She and the lieutenant had made their way to engineering and cleared the room of enemies. They'd each gone down twice, thanks to Commander Tuvok's and Commander Chakotay's unwillingness to die, but they'd always managed to revive each other in time.

"Here you go," Arizona said and she threw Callie another explosive from the stack that the Klingons had beamed over.

"Ok," Callie said. It'd been a while since she'd been trained in demolitions, and she'd certainly never learned how to blow up a Federation warp core, but she was certain they'd set up enough explosives. "That should do it."

"Ok, I'll set them now," Arizona said. Callie would have preferred to give themselves longer than 8 minutes to escape the Voyager, but the holodeck program was a little contrived. The time was set so short to make it tense. "All set," the blonde called out to Callie as Callie joined her at the base of the warp core.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Callie said with a smile.

"Freeze!" came a voice from the entrance of engineering. The two women turned to see several Starfleet officers aiming phaser compression rifles at them. In the center of them was none other than Captain Kathryn Janeway. _This should be a good fight, _Callie smiled to herself. Janeway was almost assuredly the "boss" of the holoprogram.

"Back away from the warp core," commanded Janeway. Callie had to admit—Janeway was pretty freaking intimidating. She wasn't sure she would have liked serving under her.

"Die, humans!" Arizona yelled, pulling Callie from her thoughts. She had to keep herself from laughing as the blonde chucked the last of her photon grenades towards the Starfleet officers. Arizona had been getting more and more in character as the holoprogram progressed.

Callie and Arizona dived for cover. Arizona's grenade had taken out several of the Voyager crew, but Janeway and several security officers still remained. The two women opened fire on the approaching holograms. Soon all of the security officers were downed, and Janeway was all that remained. She was closing in on Arizona, so Callie pulled out her bat'leth and charged.

"Arizona, watch out!" Callie yelled. Janeway fired her phaser at Arizona at point blank range, draining all of Arizona's health.

"Oh no, you didn't!" Callie screamed, slicing at Janeway with her bat'leth. It was a strong blow, enough to take out all of Janeway's remaining health.

"Nice job!" Arizona exclaimed.

"Thanks," Callie smiled. She slapped a med pack on Arizona and grabbed the blonde's hand. "Come on, we don't have much time left." The two women ran quickly out of engineering and hopped back in the Jeffries tube that would take them back to their shuttle. Arizona went up first, and Callie admired the view the entire climb.

"Crap," Arizona yelled, checking the remaining time. "We're not gonna make it!" Callie and Arizona sped up, running at full speed towards their shuttle.

BOOM! They felt a massive explosion, and were suddenly in an empty holodeck.

"Mission failed," the computer stated.

"Aaaahh!" Callie laughed. "We were sooo close!" She turned to Arizona, who was panting from running so fast. "Wanna try that last part again?"

Arizona smiled at her. "Hell yes, Commander!"

* * *

"I never knew being a Klingon could be so much fun," Arizona said, smiling at Callie. She and Callie were currently in a turbolift, heading up to the deck that held their quarters. They'd gone back to retry the boss fight with Janeway, and had successfully escaped the Voyager on their second try.

"Yeah, I'll have to thank Mark," Callie replied. "Although let's keep it to ourselves that we had to do the last boss fight twice. I think Mark and Lexie made it on their first try."

"My lips are sealed," Arizona replied sweetly. She was hoping that this wasn't the end of their date, that they weren't heading back to their separate quarters just yet. But Callie had been the one to ask her out, so Arizona was following her lead.

"So umm," Callie looked nervous all of a sudden, "if you're feeling tired, you don't have to come over, but I was sorta wondering if you wanted to come for dinner? I had the mess send up the ingredients for my mom's enchiladas, and I've got them all ready."

Arizona's heart surged. If Callie wanted to continue the date, that meant she was having just as good a time as the lieutenant was. "Oh, that sounds super!" she said with a smile.

"Yeah?" Callie looked pleased. And amused. Arizona chastised herself as she remembered Teddy's insistence that she stop saying words like "super" and "yay." The two women stepped off the turbolift and headed for the commanding officer's quarters. Callie let the two of them inside. Arizona noticed that the quarters were still standard Starfleet.

"You still haven't decorated?" Arizona asked.

"Umm," Callie looked bashful. "I guess I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm not much of a nester."

"Huh," Arizona contemplated. Decorating her quarters was always the first thing she did when she got to a new placement.

"Ok, here we are," Callie said as she dished out the enchiladas. "Wanna eat on the couch?"

"Sure," Arizona replied as she accepted the plate. It smelled delicious. She loved Mexican food. "So are you and your family descendants of Mexicans?" she asked. Races had become so inter-twined over the centuries, but Callie had a distinctive Latina look to her.

"Yep," Callie replied. "Which is why you're gonna love these babies."

Arizona took a bite and her eyes widened. They were _delicious_. Callie smirked. She could apparently tell how much the blonde was enjoying her food.

"Callie, this is amazing," Arizona gushed.

"Thanks," Callie said, giving Arizona's thigh a quick squeeze. Arizona immediately felt her body go on high alert. Callie had touched her several times already that night, but it was usually Callie pushing her behind a crate to avoid a phaser beam, or giving her a hand to pull her out of a Jeffries tube. This was different.

They ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence. They had both worked up quite an appetite during the holoprogram, so they were greedily devouring their enchiladas. It didn't leave a lot of room for discussion.

"Hmm," Arizona sighed in satisfaction as she placed her empty plate on Callie's coffee table. "That was wonderful. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Callie said as she set her own plate down. "So," Callie said, turning towards Arizona. She placed her hand back on Arizona's thigh and kept it there. "I had a really good time tonight. You're sexy as hell when you're blasting bad guys."

Arizona felt her face flush and her pulse quicken. Callie was now sitting very close to her, and having Callie's hand placed on her thigh was giving her all sorts of…pleasant sensations.

"Ye-yeah?" Arizona stuttered. _Real sexy response, Robbins_, she scolded herself internally.

"Mm hmm," Callie murmured in response. She leaned in to kiss Arizona on the cheek. Arizona turned towards Callie slightly so her body language would be more welcoming. She shyly grabbed the hand that Callie had left on her thigh and gave it a gentle kiss. Callie smiled in response and moved her hand to the back of Arizona's neck. Leaning in, she placed another kiss on Arizona's cheek before she looked at Arizona's lips and then in Arizona's eyes, silently asking permission.

Arizona nodded and leaned in slightly. Her heart was racing and she had to remind herself to breathe. She was about to kiss Callie. She'd spent half of her life admiring the woman and now she was here, in her quarters, about to kiss her.

Callie smiled in response and closed the distance. She placed a soft and tender kiss on Arizona's mouth. Arizona thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. After a few seconds, Callie pulled away, checking to see if Arizona was ok. Arizona managed to give her a shy smile, hoping Callie would take the hint and continue. Callie's smile widened and she kissed Arizona again, this time for longer and with more force.

"Mmm," Arizona sighed into the kiss. She loved the taste of Callie's lips, and they were just as soft as she'd imagined a hundred times. Callie seemed to take Arizona's contented sigh as a good sign, because she quickly pulled Arizona closer so she was partially seated in her lap. Arizona moved a hand to cup Callie's cheek in an attempt to deepen the kiss, but accidentally grazed one of Callie's breasts in the process.

_Shit shit shit! _Arizona thought as she jerked back. Here she was trying to be romantic, and now her commanding officer probably thought she was trying to grope her. She looked at Callie in horror, desperately trying to apologize to her but unable to form words. But Callie just smiled and chuckled a little, clearly amused at how flustered the blonde had become. Callie pulled Arizona back in and placed a quick peck on her forehead before heading back to her mouth. Miniature panic attack finished, Arizona finally relaxed a bit and let herself simply enjoy the feeling of Callie's lips against hers. Yeah, she could definitely get used to this.

After a few moments, Callie slowly pulled away and looked in the blonde's eyes. "You are _so_ beautiful," she whispered, softly caressing Arizona's face.

Arizona felt herself blush and she looked down. "Thank you," she responded shyly. She couldn't believe that she was here, in Callie's arms, with Callie calling her beautiful. This perfect, gorgeous, graceful woman was touching her, caressing her.

Arizona looked back up Callie. She ran her hand through her commanding officer's silky black hair, marveling at its softness. "You're beautiful, too," she said, staring into Callie's gorgeous brown eyes.

They continued to hold each other's gaze, but this time they weren't even slightly embarrassed about it.

* * *

**AN: This was inspired by my own ideal date lol. I love playing co-op first person shooters and then eating :) Also, there wasn't any boob-touching before I asked my boyfriend for help in making the kissing scene better, so if you don't like it, blame him. Typical boy...wanting there to be boobs involved :P**


	8. Chapter 8

"You look happy, mija," Carlos Torres said as he sat at the head of his family table. "Happier than I've seen you in years."

Callie smiled. She _was_ happy. Her career was going phenomenally well, she got to have a real home instead of constantly travelling, and she was finally able to see her family and best friend almost every day. And she had Arizona. The two Starfleet officers hadn't had the "girlfriend" talk yet, but they'd had several fantastic dates and heavy make-out sessions in the past two weeks. Callie felt giddy just thinking about the blonde.

"That's cuz I am happy, daddy. Things are going really well so far." She looked down to her left when she felt a light tapping on her shoulder.

"Auntie Callie, will you pass the fruit please?" her little niece said sweetly.

"Sure, Hailey," Callie replied as she passed the fruit salad. She leaned in to whisper to her niece. "And thank you for asking so politely." The little girl beamed upon receiving her aunt's praise.

"Well with your career all set," Lucia Torres now chimed in. "Shouldn't you think about settling down? Raising a family?"

"Mama…" Callie sighed. Her mother had been pestering her to get married and have kids for the past several years.

"Well don't you want to?" Lucia pressed. "You see how happy Aria and Michael are!" Lucia's gaze shifted down to the other end of the table, where Callie's sister and brother-in-law were seated nearby their two sons.

_If only my senior staff could see me now_, Callie thought to herself sardonically. To them, she was Commander Callie Torres, commanding officer and professional badass. But to her family? She was the daughter who hadn't gotten married and popped out a kid yet.

"Of course I want that, mama," Callie replied. "It's just…it's more complicated than that!"

"No, it's not," Lucia argued. "You just need to get out of your office long enough to actually meet people."

Callie let out a huff and clenched her jaw. She was tired of this conversation.

"Have you been able to make friends with some of your officers, mija?" Carlos asked, trying to rescue his younger daughter. "I know you wanted to."

"Yeah, they're a good bunch." Callie put a forkful of food in her mouth, anxious to stop discussing her social life.

"Gotten…_friendly_ with any of them?" Aria piped in from the other end of the table. She was wiggling her eyebrow suggestively.

Callie immediately felt her cheeks flush and she quickly looked down, hoping that her sister wouldn't notice.

"You have!" Aria said victoriously, slamming a fist down on the table in triumph. She could read her sister perfectly. "Come on, spill!"

"Auntie Callie's got a girlfriend?" the 10-year-old Gavin asked, suddenly interested in the grown-ups' previously boring conversation.

"Gavin," Michael said with a warning tone. Gavin immediately got the cue that he should stay out of it. But the little boy still had an ear to ear grin on his face. His younger brother Troy just looked confused. He hadn't been paying any attention at all.

Callie let out a low growl and rubbed her temples. She loved her family, but she wished they would just butt out sometimes.

"Well, who is this woman?" Lucia asked after Callie remained silent.

"Now dear, if she doesn't want to tell us, she doesn't have to," Carlos said, placing a restraining hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Nonsense, Carlos. We're her family," Lucia replied, brushing off her husband's attempt to spare Callie from the Lucia and Aria Inquisition.

"I—" Callie paused. She didn't really want to tell her family about Arizona just yet. The two women had been discreet about their relationship, and she was pretty sure no one knew except for Mark and Dax. Eventually it would come out, but for now? She was just enjoying keeping Arizona to herself. "I don't really want to get into it. It's still early."

"Is it your chief science officer? Meredith?" Aria questioned, completely ignoring Callie's desires not to get into it. "She came by to talk to my science class this week. She's _very _pretty."

"No, it's—it's not Meredith," Callie said, her frustration growing.

"Oh I know!" Aria exclaimed. "I saw you walking into that bar on the Promenade with a _very cute_ blonde woman. Was that her? She actually looks kind of like Erica."

Callie, Lucia, Carlos, and Michael all turned to stare at Aria. Aria's eyes widened and she swallowed hard when she realized her mistake. Bringing up Erica Hahn was a no-no in this family.

"Sorry," she mumbled, suddenly very interested in the food on her plate.

The family sat in silence for a few moments, no one quite sure what to do after that. Lucia Torres wasn't about to let the mention of a mysterious blonde woman slip by in vain, however.

"So, was that her?" she asked tentatively. "The blonde woman?"

Callie sighed in frustration. This was never going to end unless she just gave her mother and sister what they wanted.

"Yes, that's her," she said as she stood from the table and threw her napkin down on her chair. "If you'll excuse me." The entire family sat in silence as Callie stormed out of the Carlos' and Lucia's quarters.

* * *

"YOU SLEPT WITH MY GIRLFRIEND?!"

"She's not even technically your girlfriend!"

"YOU SLEPT WITH MY NON-GIRLFRIEND AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?! _I_ HAVEN'T EVEN SLEPT WITH HER YET, TEDDY!"

"Arizona, calm down! _I_ didn't sleep with Callie. _Marissa_ slept with Callie. I just inherited the memory!" Teddy was having a hard time keeping a safe distance away from Arizona, who was currently storming after her all around their quarters. She quickly hopped around the coffee table, hoping it would offer her some protection.

"Teddy, I have been gushing to you about this woman for the past 15 years! How could you not tell me until NOW?"

"I was only joined with Dax two years ago! What was I supposed to say, 'Oh hey, Arizona, you know that woman you're obsessed with? Yeah, I know what she looks like naked!'?"

"YOU'VE SEEN MY GIRLFRIEND NAKED!"

"Arizona! Dax is almost 400 years old! I've been a man, I've been a woman, I've been gay, I've been straight. Do you have any idea how many people I've seen naked?"

"I don't care how many _other_ people you've seen naked, I care that you've seen _Callie_ naked!"

Teddy just threw her hands up, as if to say "what do you want from me?".

Arizona calmed down a bit. "How many times did Marissa sleep with her?"

"Quite a few."

"Were they serious?"

"No, it was just a casual thing. No real feelings involved. Marissa never asked Callie about it, but she definitely thought Callie was hurting over something. She was in a pretty dark place."

Arizona nodded as she digested that information. She wasn't actually _mad_ at Teddy. It wasn't Teddy's fault that one of Dax's earlier hosts had slept with Callie, and of course she'd assumed that Callie had exes. Still, that didn't mean she had to like the idea of her best friend having intimate memories of Callie.

"Did she look good?" Arizona asked. "Naked, I mean?"

Teddy smiled and nodded. "Glorious."

"And was she… was she good? She seems like she'd be good."

"Spectacular," Teddy laughed. "You're in for a good workout."

Arizona smiled. She was hoping she could experience this "workout" sometime soon. They hadn't gone too far physically yet. She and Callie had some sort of unspoken agreement that they weren't a fling—they were something serious. And that called for building a more solid foundation before hopping into bed with each other. But with every passing day, Arizona was craving Callie's touch more and more.

"What else should I know about her?" Arizona asked. Maybe she could get some useful information out of her best friend.

"Arizona," Teddy said reproachfully. "I felt obligated to tell you about the sex because you're my best friend. But I'm not going to tell you things Callie said in confidence to Marissa. You're going to have to discover who Callie Torres is for yourself."

"Hmm, ok," Arizona replied. She couldn't fault her best friend for having a strong sense of ethics.

"So can we go to dinner now?" Teddy asked. "I'm starving."

"Sure," Arizona grumbled, deciding to let her friend off the hook for the evening. She followed Teddy out of their quarters and to the nearest turbolift.

"Promenade," Teddy called out. The turbolift immediately started to move.

"I still can't believe you slept with my girlfriend."

* * *

Callie Torres scowled as she drank her morning coffee and skimmed through a few reports. After storming out of her family dinner the previous night, she'd made a beeline for Arizona's quarters. Finding that neither the blonde nor her botanist best friend was home, she'd headed to Mark's place. However, the only thing meeting her at her chief medical officer's door had been loud moans that sounded suspiciously like her communications officer. So she'd gone back to her quarters, watched a high school match of Parisses Squares, and gone to bed with the hope that tomorrow would be better.

So far, however, today seemed just as bad as yesterday. She'd been excited to see her tactical officer's gorgeous smile as soon as she walked into Command, but Arizona's station had been empty. Apparently, Arizona had gone down to the newly colonized SG-502 to oversee the final stage of her tactical systems being installed. Callie had found herself looking over to Arizona's station every few minutes, each time forgetting the blonde was gone and each time missing her presence. So Callie had simply closed the privacy shade to her office and tried to focus on her work.

Focusing on her work, however, was difficult when her sister insisted on calling her every five minutes. Each time the computer informed her that she had an incoming transmission from Aria Torres, she growled and told the computer to ignore the call. After what Callie was sure was the 20th time Aria called, Callie simply instructed the computer to ignore all incoming transmissions from her sister.

"Commander Torres?"

Callie looked up from the report she was reading to see her communications officer standing in the doorway.

"What is it, Ensign?"

"I don't know why she didn't just call your office directly, but your sister's on the comms and is asking for you. Should I patch her through?

Callie rolled her eyes. _Really Aria? You're pestering my staff now?_ "No," she said, not caring to elaborate.

"Ma'am?" Lexie hesitated, expecting some kind of explanation.

"No, I don't want to talk to her, Grey."

"Umm, yes ma'am." Lexie turned to go, but continued to stand in the doorway. "Um, Commander?"

"What, Grey?" Callie snapped. She really wished everyone would just leave her alone today.

"What should I tell her?"

"Little Grey, I don't give a damn what you tell her. I'm not talking to her."

"Yes, ma'am." Lexie gave a quick nod and scampered out of sight, anxious to get away from her very moody commanding officer.

Callie leaned back in her chair and let out a frustrated grumble. Today sucked.

* * *

"So again, I _highly_ doubt you will _ever_ have to use this, but that command will raise a shield around the entire colony—nobody will be able to get in or out."

"Thanks so much, Lieutenant. We really appreciate you taking the time to come down here yourself."

"Oh, it's not trouble whatsoever."

Arizona Robbins was sitting in the security office of the newly founded Aurora Colony, explaining her tactical improvements to Finn Dandridge, the colony's chief security officer.

"Still, we appreciate all the support that we've received from the crew of the _Seattle_," Finn replied with a smile. And wink. Was he coming on to her?

"Well if you ever need anything else, just let us know. We're just a quick shuttle ride away and we're more than happy to help," Arizona said in a friendly tone, choosing to believe that it had been an involuntary eye twitch. She stood up from her chair. "Anything else before I return to the station?"

"Well actually," Finn started. "I was wondering if I could interest you in some lunch? There's a secluded waterfall not far from here, and I thought we could enjoy a picnic, get to know each other a little better?"

Yep, he was definitely coming on to her.

"Oh!" Arizona said, feeling a little flustered. She'd never known how to let guys down easy. Especially nice guys like Finn, who had absolutely nothing wrong with them except for the fact that they were male. "Well…I…" She looked down at her hands, trying to come up with a good excuse. "Commander Torres actually requested that I return to the station as soon as I was done." That wasn't true, but Finn would never know the difference.

Except that Commander Torres entered the colony's security office at that exactly moment.

"What did I do?" Callie asked, having heard her name as she opened the door. Finn looked startled to see the commanding officer of the _Seattle_ standing in his humble security office.

"You um, you wanted me to come back up to the station right away after finishing," Arizona said, using her eyes to urge Callie to play along.

"I did?" Callie scrunched up her face in confusion, completely missing Arizona's signals. Arizona gave Callie a pointed stare and tried to nod her head "yes" without being too obvious. "Oh, right!" Callie said a bit too enthusiastically after finally understanding what Arizona wanted. She turned towards Finn and smiled too widely. "I did!"

"Ok well um," Finn looked back and forth from Callie to Arizona. He knew he was missing something, but he didn't know what. "I guess I'll just…see you later?"

"Sure!" Arizona squeaked. "Nice to see you again. And good luck!" She quickly grabbed Callie's arm and pulled the commander out of the room.

"Arizona, what the hell?" a bewildered Callie exclaimed as Arizona dragged her from the security office and unceremoniously pushed her into the unoccupied supply closet next door.

"He was asking me out and I told him that I couldn't stay for lunch because you wanted me back on the station, and he was just about to believe me but then you walked in so you clearly didn't need me back on the station and now I probably hurt his feelings and I looked like a total moron!" Arizona spat out nervously. "And what are you doing here, anyways?"

"I wanted to see you."

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Callie replied simply.

"Why didn't you just wait until I got back?"

"I missed you."

Arizona's heart turned to mush as Callie stood in front of her making puppy dog eyes.

"Aww, you missed me!"

"Shut up," Callie mumbled. Arizona smiled sweetly as Callie placed her hands on Arizona's hips and leaned in for a kiss.

"Mmm," Arizona sighed into the kiss. Her own hands found their way to Callie's back. "How'd dinner go last night?" she murmured before leaning in for another kiss.

Callie groaned and shook her head. "I really don't wanna talk about that."

"Mmk," Arizona decided not to push the issue as she continued to kiss her commanding officer. She poked her tongue out of her mouth, seeking entrance into Callie's. Callie readily accepted it and moaned as Arizona started to massage her tongue with her own. Callie's hands slowly crept downwards, and Arizona giggled slightly as Callie began to squeeze her ass.

"What?" Callie mumbled.

"Been a while since I made out with someone in a supply closet."

"Hmm, me too," Callie smiled. She released Arizona's backside and cupped the blonde's face, deepening the kiss.

"I'm not complaining though."

"Mm-mm," Callie shook her head. She gently pushed Arizona's back against the wall of the closet and pressed herself against the blonde's body. Arizona felt herself tense with anticipation. She wrapped her arms more tightly around Callie, loving the sensation of Callie's weight pressing against her. She was having trouble breathing, but she really didn't care. If she ran out of breath, this would be a good way to die.

"Whoa!"

Callie jerked away from Arizona as the supply closet's door slid open to reveal Finn.

"Whoa! I-! What are you-! Sorry!" he said, quickly closing the door and disappearing from sight.

Arizona closed her eyes and sank back into the wall, absolutely horrified at getting caught making out in a closet. Callie, on the other hand, began to laugh hysterically.

Arizona's eyes shot back open. "You think this is funny?"

After seeing the look on Arizona's face, Callie just started to laugh harder.

"Calliope Torres, this is not funny!"

Callie just continued to laugh, appearing to be on the verge of tears.

Arizona let out an exasperated huff, clearly not amused by Callie's reaction.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Callie managed to get out between laughs. She was having a hard time getting a hold of herself.

Arizona sighed and crossed her arms grouchily, waiting for her commanding officer to stop laughing.

"I'm sorry," Callie said, finally calmed down. "That was just too perfect. Your cute little boyfriend walked in on you making out in a supply closet with your girlfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Arizona argued. "And you're not my—wait," Arizona paused as she finally processed what Callie had said. "Did you just call me your girlfriend?"

Callie's eyes bulged out of her head when she realized what she'd let slip out. "I, I, I…" she stuttered. Arizona realized her commanding officer was starting to panic.

"Callie?" Arizona stepped closer to the other woman as Callie looked down. "Am I your girlfriend?"

Callie hesitated for a few moments before she looked back up at Arizona, a fearful look in her eyes.

"You are if you want to be," Callie murmured softly, insecurity seeping out of her body.

Arizona thought her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Just a little over two weeks ago, Arizona had been prepared to get fired and for Callie to tell her she never wanted to see her again. And now Callie, the marvelous creature that she'd adored for so long, was asking her to be her girlfriend. Arizona didn't know how her legs were still supporting her at that moment.

"I'd like that," Arizona said, a ridiculously large smile adorning her face.

Callie let out a deep breath she'd been holding. She smiled as she squeezed both of Arizona's hands. "Good," she said.

As she stood in a storage closet and stared happily into her girlfriend's eyes, Arizona was convinced that she'd just died and gone to Heaven.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I just recently uploaded Chapter 8, so please make sure you've read that first. Also, I just wanted to express how much I appreciate reading your reviews. (I'm not begging for reviews-I swear!) I just thought you should know that it makes me smile to know you're enjoying the story. If you ever have things you'd like to see, feel free to make a suggestion. I can't guarantee that I'll meet your requests (I do have long term plans for this story), but I'll take your ideas into consideration. Hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

"Good morning, everyone!" Callie called out as she entered Command. "I'd like to announce a little shift in personnel. This is Admiral Hailey Santos, and, effective immediately, she is assuming full command of the _USS Seattle_. I expect you all to serve her with the same dedication and effort with which you've served me."

Arizona smiled as a delighted giggle escaped from the little girl perched atop Callie's shoulders. The girl looked like a clone of Callie and was all decked out in a miniature admiral's uniform, complete with the four pips and gold bars of a full fleet admiral. It was the cutest thing Arizona had ever seen.

"Admiral Santos," Callie said as she approached the comms station. "This is Ensign Alexandra Grey, your comms officer. She makes sure that we can talk to each other from anywhere on the station, and she also keeps us up to date with everything else that's happening in the Federation."

"It's nice to meet you, Admiral," Lexie smiled, playing along.

"It's my birthday!" Hailey squealed, looking down at Lexie from her aunt's shoulders.

"Well happy birthday, Admiral," Lexie replied. "How old are you?"

"Five!"

"Wow," Lexie said, exaggerating her smile. "That's super cool that you made admiral so young!"

Callie chuckled as she turned away from comms and headed to her science officer.

"This is Lieutenant Junior Grade Meredith Grey. She's your science officer. She helps us come up with solutions for all sorts of problems that we have here in outer space."

"My mommy's a science teacher," Hailey explained to Meredith.

"Yes, I know," Meredith replied, not knowing quite how to respond. She was less of a natural with children than her sister. "I gave a talk to your mother's science class a few days ago."

"And this," Callie continued on, "is Lt. Commander Preston Burke. He's your first officer. He helps with the general administration of the station, oversees the entire crew, and is super handy when you need special projects done."

"Hi!" Hailey chirped, not knowing quite what to say to the impressive-looking man.

"Hi," he smiled back. "Happy birthday, and congratulations on your posting to the _Seattle_. I'm at your service."

"Thank you," the little girl smiled sweetly. Callie looked up to give her niece a wink before finally making her way over to Arizona's station.

"And finally, we have Lieutenant Arizona Robbins, your tactical officer. She keeps us all safe."

Hailey looked confused and leaned down to whisper in her aunt's ear.

"But mommy says that security keeps us safe."

"Oh, your chief security officer is Lt. Commander Yang. She's down in her security office on the Promenade, and she makes sure we're all safe from people on the station. Arizona here protects us from bad guys who want to attack us from outside the station."

"Oh," Hailey said. In all likelihood, she had no idea what Callie had just said, but she nodded her head anyways.

"Happy birthday, Admiral," Arizona said with a smile. Hailey was absolutely adorable, and she was enjoying her presence in Command. It was a nice change of pace.

"Thanks!" Hailey replied. "You're pretty."

Arizona smiled even wider. "Why, thank you. That's very kind of you to say."

"But not as pretty as my mommy."

Arizona had a hard time keeping a straight face as Callie's eyes bulged out of her head. Arizona could see amused looks on the faces of Lexie, Meredith, Burke, and the assorted crewman working in Command.

"Hailey Alexis Santos!" Callie scolded, craning her neck to glare up at her niece. "That was not a nice thing to say!"

Hailey sunk her shoulders and pouted a little bit, upset that her aunt was mad at her.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"What was that?" Callie asked pointedly. Arizona could tell that Callie wasn't the type to accept any nonsense from her niece.

"I'm sorry, Miss Arizona."

"Mm hmm, that's what I thought," Callie remarked, finally turning off her "angry momma" stare and facing forwards again.

"Thank you, Admiral," Arizona said. "I accept your apology."

"Commander?" Lexie Grey called from across the command center. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could you come look at this?"

"Sure, Ensign," Callie called back. She reached up and swung Hailey off of her shoulders. "Arizona, would you?" she asked, indicating to Hailey.

"Sure," Arizona replied, and helped Callie set the little girl down on her console.

"Thanks," Callie smiled, before turning to go see what Lexie needed.

Arizona smiled at Hailey. She knew that she was only Callie's niece, but she could have easily been the Commander's daughter. She had Callie's eyes, nose, lips, and hair. Four things that Arizona absolutely loved about Callie.

"So your mom's really pretty, huh?" Arizona said, hoping to engage Hailey on a topic she was keen to discuss.

"Yeah!" Hailey said excitedly, retrieving a small PADD from her belt. "Here!" the little girl said. She held out the PADD for Arizona to take. The PADD was currently displaying a picture of a slightly younger Hailey and a beautiful woman sitting on a bench in what appeared to be a park.

"Wow, she _is_ really pretty!" Arizona said encouragingly. Hailey beamed in response and leaned over, pressing a button on the PADD.

"This one's my favorite. That's my mommy and daddy on the day they got married." The picture showed a woman who was clearly Callie sister standing next to a very handsome young man. On the couple's left was an older couple who Arizona assumed were Callie's parents, and on their right stood Callie and…a woman. Arizona's breath got hitched in her throat for a moment when she saw that both Callie and the woman had rings on their left ring fingers. Arizona's eyes quickly flashed over to Callie, who was still deep in conversation with Ensign Grey. They were girlfriends now…shouldn't Callie have mentioned if she was married before?

"Who um…,"Arizona tried to regain her composure. "Who are the other people in the picture?"

"That's my grandma Lucia and grandpa Carlos," Hailey said, pointing to the older couple. "They're my mommy's mommy and daddy. And that's Auntie Callie and Erica," she said, pointing to the couple on the other side of her parents.

"Who's Erica?" Arizona asked, trying to act casual.

Hailey shrugged. "I dunno. We're not allowed to talk about her."

"Why not?"

"Mommy says it makes Auntie Callie sad."

"Oh," Arizona said softly. Was Callie a widow? Had this Erica woman died?

Hailey pushed another button on the PADD, and the picture changed to display the same handsome man and two young boys playing on a beach. "That's my daddy and Troy and Gavin," Hailey explained. "They're my older brothers."

"I have an older brother!" Arizona said excitedly, trying to keep Callie's niece entertained. "He used to pick on me when I was little. Do your brothers pick on you?"

"Mm hmm," Hailey nodded vigorously. "But Mommy and Auntie Callie always make them stop."

"Well that's nice of them," Arizona said. She noticed that Callie was headed back over to her station.

"Alright, kiddo," Callie said as she arrived at the tactical station. "I've gotta get you back to your mom. School starts in 20 minutes."

"But I don't waaaaanna go to school!" Hailey whined. "Can't I just stay here with you?"

Callie gave her niece an empathetic pout. "Sorry, sweetie, but you've gotta go to school and Auntie Callie has to get some work done."

Hailey crossed her arms with a loud "humph!" and made an adorable cranky face.

"Oh, come on, cranky pants," Callie said as she lifted Hailey off of Arizona's console and onto the floor. "Say goodbye to all of the nice officers!"

"Bye," Hailey mumbled, not quite done with being grumpy.

Arizona smiled as she watched Callie escorting the tiny admiral out of Command. Callie was good with kids. Hailey obviously adored her aunt, and Arizona couldn't help but think that Callie would make a great mom. Still, despite the warm feelings that witnessing Callie and Hailey gave her, Arizona couldn't help but feel a little insecure. Who was this Erica? And why did talking about her make Callie sad?

* * *

"So your niece is just about the most adorable thing I've ever seen."

"Yeah, she's pretty cute isn't she?"

Arizona nodded enthusiastically as she took another sip of her Saurian brandy. She and Callie were seated at Joe's, one of the more out-of-the-way bars on the Promenade. The two of them had met for a couple of drinks after Callie got done with Hailey's birthday party, and they had wanted to avoid the more rowdy atmosphere at McDreamy's.

"When you were talking with Lexie, she showed me some pictures of your sister. Aria really is quite stunning."

Callie rolled her eyes. She still wasn't on speaking terms with Aria or her mother. Which had made Hailey's party quite unpleasant. "Yup." She took a sip of her wine. "And she knows it, too."

Arizona gave her a confused look. "I thought you got along with Aria?"

Callie sighed. "I do," Callie said. "Usually." In truth, after Mark, Callie generally considered Aria to be her closest friend. She just had the annoying tendency to pry into every aspect of her younger sister's personal life.

Arizona took another sip of her drink, waiting for Callie to continue.

"She and my mom just get too involved in my business sometimes. It's like nothing I do matters because I haven't gotten married or had kids yet."

"I'd rather have that than _my_ parents' expectations," commented the blonde. "If I hadn't been first in my class at the academy, I'm pretty sure they would have disowned me."

Callie just smiled and squeezed Arizona's hand in response. She was tired, and wasn't feeling like much of a conversationalist. She was enjoying the simplicity of just sitting and enjoying a drink with her girlfriend.

"So I take it the party didn't go well?"

Callie scoffed and shook her head no. "You know how I mentioned that I didn't want to talk about my family dinner two nights ago?"

Arizona nodded.

"Well I sorta stormed out of that dinner because my mom and Aria were pissing me off, and I haven't exactly resumed speaking to them yet."

Arizona's eyes widened. "Yikes."

"Yup," Callie responded, finishing off the last of her wine. She quickly signaled the bartender for another.

"So when Lexie told your sister you weren't available yesterday?"

"I was avoiding her, yeah."

"What did she and your mom _do_?" Arizona asked.

"Ugh," Callie groaned, resting her head in her hands. She didn't really feel like explaining to Arizona that _Arizona_ was the reason she was upset with her family. She didn't know how to tell her girlfriend that she didn't want to tell her family about her without hurting her feelings. And she especially didn't want to mention that her mood had already been soured by Aria's unfortunate mention of Erica. That was a subject Callie _definitely_ didn't want to broach.

Arizona apparently sensed Callie's reluctance to discuss it. "Never mind, you don't have to talk about it," Arizona said as she massaged Callie's hand.

Callie lifted her head to make eye contact with Arizona. "Thanks, babe," she said appreciatively. Arizona gave her a comforting smile and continued to sip on her brandy.

"Callie?" The Commander whipped her head around as a familiar voice called her name. _Oh this is just perfect_, Callie thought as she saw her sister and brother-in-law enter the bar. _Of all the places on this station to grab a drink, they have to come here?!_

"Aria." Callie gritted her teeth as the couple approached her and Arizona. Aria looked thrilled to have encountered her sister with the now-famous blonde woman. Michael gave Callie an apologetic smile. Arizona sat up straight and looked a little nervous once she realized who the couple was.

"Shouldn't you be home with your daughter?" Callie asked venomously. "You know, on her birthday?"

"Oh she and the boys went to bed an hour ago," Aria said nonchalantly. "Mom's with them now." Aria turned to look towards Arizona, a smug look on her face. "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

Callie sighed in frustration. Aria really could be a little bitch sometimes. "Guys, this is Lt. Arizona Robbins, tactical. Arizona, this is my sister, Aria Torres Santos, and her husband, Michael Santos."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Arizona said, her best smile on display. "I met your daughter when Callie brought her to Command this morning. She's absolutely delightful."

"_Callie_, huh?" Aria smirked. "Little sis, do all of your officers call you by your first name?" At this point, Aria wasn't even trying to hide the sheer pleasure she was deriving from this encounter.

Callie let out a low growl. This was not going well. "No, Aria," Callie said grudgingly. There really was no avoiding it now. She stared down at her drink and forced the words out. "Arizona is my girlfriend."

"Oh!" Aria looked quite pleased with herself. She turned back to Arizona. "Well then it's extra nice to meet you."

"Thanks," Arizona said, trying her best to smile. When she looked over at Callie, Callie could see hurt and confusion pouring out of Arizona's eyes. _Damnit_, Callie thought. Arizona had apparently misunderstood Callie's reluctance to introduce her as her girlfriend. This night just kept getting worse.

"We'll have to have you over for dinner sometime soon," Aria continued, oblivious to Arizona's and Callie's silent communication.

"Uh, sure, if Callie wants to," Arizona replied. She looked uncomfortably from Callie to Aria.

Michael, however, wasn't oblivious to Callie's and Arizona's discomfort. "Aria, honey," he interrupted, placing a hand on the small of his wife's back. "Why don't we let these ladies get back to their drinks, huh?"

"Alright," Aria conceded. "It was nice bumping into you."

_Thank you_, Callie mouthed to her brother-in-law as he and Aria started to head towards the bar. He gave her a friendly wink in response.

When Aria and Michael had gone, Callie shifted her attention back to Arizona, who was currently staring at her drink.

"Arizona," Callie said, reaching over to grab the hand that Arizona had resting on the table. The blonde recoiled from Callie's touch and her eyes flashed up to Callie in anger.

"Are you ashamed of me?" Arizona said, her voice small.

"No!" Callie said emphatically. "No, Arizona, that's not it _at all_."

Arizona stared at Callie, and Callie could tell that the blonde didn't quite believe her.

"Arizona, please, I—" Callie paused, unsure of how to explain it to her girlfriend. She let out a sigh, trying to gather her thoughts. Arizona just sat patiently, waiting for an explanation. "The reason why I was mad at my mom and Aria is because they were being too nosy about if I was dating anyone. Aria especially is always getting in my business, and I just wasn't ready to tell anybody about us yet. I mean, have you told your parents and brother about me?"

"No," Arizona replied. "But I also wouldn't be embarrassed to introduce you as my girlfriend if they walked in that door right now."

"I'm not _embarrassed_ of you, Arizona, I swear. I'm just mad at my sister. I was trying to keep you all to myself for a little while. I was trying to get Aria to butt out. But despite my best efforts, she _still _manages to get her way. And you can bet that the second she gets home, she's going to tell my mother all about you."

Arizona sighed and nodded. "Ok."

"Ok?" Callie asked, hoping Arizona would accept that the sibling interaction she'd just witnessed had nothing to do with Callie's feelings for her.

"Ok."

"Arizona," Callie said, asking her girlfriend to look at her again. When Arizona met her eyes, she continued. "I couldn't be happier that you're my girlfriend, and I could never be ashamed of you."

"Ok," Arizona nodded again.

Callie sighed. Apparently it was going to take a little more to convince the blonde of her feelings.

"Well I'm feeling pretty tired," Arizona announced, abruptly standing up from the table. "I'll see you tomorrow." She gave Callie a quick kiss on the cheek before exiting the bar.

Once Arizona was gone, Callie groaned and her head fell into her hands. She'd been hoping to enjoy a drink with her girlfriend, flirt like crazy, and then head back to one of their quarters for an extended make-out session. But instead, Aria had interrupted their drinks, there was zero flirting going on, and Callie was headed back to her quarters alone. _Dammit, Aria._


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: For those of you who haven't seen it, there is a link to some USS Calzona artwork in my profile. My lovely boyfriend made it. Check it out!**

* * *

Lt. Arizona Robbins sat quietly at her station, working on her daily tactical briefing. She hadn't seen Callie all morning—Arizona had been down in Engineering when Callie had arrived in Command. Chief Webber and his ever-present sidekick Ensign George O'Malley had requested her presence to demonstrate some proposed weapons upgrades. She'd listened to their presentation, glared at O'Malley, and approved the upgrades. When she'd arrived back in Command, Callie had already been locked in her office with her privacy shade engaged.

Not that Arizona really cared—she wasn't in the mood to see her commanding officer. Or her girlfriend, for that matter. Regardless of whether Callie's lame excuse about her nosy sister was true—Callie hadn't wanted to acknowledge her relationship with Arizona. And that hurt. A lot. So Arizona was content to sit and stew at her desk. She'd have to go into Callie's office eventually to deliver her briefing, but that could wait.

Unless, of course, Callie popped her head outside of her office and requested her tactical briefing.

"Robbins?"

_Shit_, Arizona thought. _So much for avoiding her_. "Yes, ma'am?" Arizona replied, without looking up from her console.

"Is your tactical briefing prepared?"

"Almost, ma'am. Give me a minute and I'll be right in."

"K."

Arizona groaned to herself as Callie disappeared from sight. Gathering the last bit of data she needed, she grabbed her PADD and trudged into Callie's office.

"Hey," Callie said softly, as soon as Arizona was seated.

"Hey," Arizona responded, an edge in her voice.

"Arizona," Callie sighed.

"Yes, Commander?" Arizona replied in an obnoxiously professional tone. She wasn't about to make this easy on her commanding officer.

"I'm sorry, ok?" Callie shrugged.

Arizona scoffed internally. Did she really think an "I'm sorry" was all she needed to smooth things over? Brushing off Callie's apology, Arizona decided to dive right into her tactical report.

"This morning I approved some new weapons upgrades that Chief Webber and—"

"Arizona," Callie interrupted.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you forget about the tactical briefing for a second?"

"I'm sorry, I thought that was why you called me in here," Arizona snapped. She knew she was probably being a little bitchier than was actually warranted, but at this point she didn't care.

"Arizona, I'm trying to apologize to you, ok?"

"It's your office and your station. You can do whatever you want, Commander."

Callie let out a sharp exhale, clearly frustrated by Arizona's snippiness.

"Arizona, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings last night. I just—"

"Commander?" Lexie Grey appeared in the doorway, an excited look on her face.

"Yes, what it is, Grey?" Callie responded, her attention still fixed on Arizona.

"We just got a transmission from the expeditionary fleet. They've made first contact with a new species."

Callie and Arizona both jumped to their feet the moment they heard "first contact." Their little spat would have to wait. This was it. This was why the _Seattle_ and its crew were out here in the first place, so far away from home.

* * *

"Tell me everything, Grey," Callie commanded as she stepped around her desk and followed the ensign back to her station. Callie could almost feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. First contact. One of the primary reasons Callie had been selected to be the commanding officer of the _Seattle_ was that she was a skilled negotiator and ambassador. The station was set up to receive ambassadors from any new species the expeditionary fleet might encounter. Callie's job was to welcome these ambassadors, open diplomatic and trade communications with them, and gauge their interest in joining the Federation.

"They're called Delvians," Lexie started. "One of their border patrols encountered a scouting party from the fleet. They're peaceful, they welcomed the fleet into their territory right away, and they've already agreed to send an ambassador to the station. He'll be here in four days."

"Four days?" Callie asked incredulously. "That's fast!"

"Well the fleet hasn't been travelling in a straight line at maximum warp, ma'am. They go slowly and spread out so they can cover a large area of—"

"I know how it works, Grey!" Callie snapped.

"Right," Lexie smiled apologetically. She'd recently developed the ability to distinguish between Callie's "Shut up, you're a moron" snapping and Callie's "Shut up, I get it" snapping. It had made Lexie's job considerably less stressful.

"Anyways," Lexie continued. "He's going to head straight here on maximum warp. That's all I know so far. The fleet's diplomatic officer is working on some info for us."

"Ok," Callie said, launching into full-on commander mode. "Ensign, the diplomatic officer will probably include this stuff in his report, but I need to know everything I can about this species. Cultural dos and don'ts. Religious customs. Dietary requirements. System of Government. Environmental necessities."

"Yes, ma'am," Lexie nodded.

Callie turned towards Meredith. "Mer, watch the data the fleet sends. The Delvians' anatomy, natural habitat, technological advantages, weapons systems. I want a full report as soon as you can manage."

"Ma'am," Meredith acknowledged.

"Burke, once Lexie gets the info I requested, work with her on setting up a formal reception for their ambassador. Then put together a tour of the station. I also want a preliminary agenda for our first meeting with him. Oh, and I'll need you to brief the crew on if there's anything out of the ordinary that would insult these people."

"Robbins," Callie said, finally turning to Arizona. "When Meredith finishes her report, look it over to see if we need to be concerned about their weapons systems. And would you mind interfacing with Yang on security measures for the ambassador?"

"Right away, ma'am," Arizona replied.

"Ok people," Callie said, finally taking a second to breathe. "I know I don't need to emphasize to you how important it is that this go well. This is the reason we're all here. Let's get to work."

Leaving her officers to go about their individual tasks, Callie went back into her office and sank into her desk chair. She couldn't help a huge smile from spreading across her face. Sure, running the day-to-day operations of the station was satisfying enough. But the idea of being the Federation's primary representative to a new species? That got her blood pumping.

* * *

"Teddy! I need to tell you something."

"Ok, what?"

"I think you should sit down."

Arizona was sitting on her couch in her living room, and had been anxiously awaiting her best friend's arrival. Teddy was going to flip out.

"What's wrong?" Teddy asked as she sat down next to Arizona.

"Nothing's wrong," Arizona replied quickly. "Teddy, I'm assuming that it's made its way through the station that we've made first contact with a new species?"

"Yeah?" Teddy asked expectantly. "What about it?"

Arizona took a big breath. _Here goes nothing_. "They're plants."

Teddy just looked at Arizona, waiting for her friend to continue. "Well what about their plants?" she asked when Arizona said nothing.

"No, _they_ are plants," Arizona said. "Like…they evolved from plants. They are living, breathing, sentient, humanoid _plants_."

Teddy's jaw dropped open and she stared blankly at Arizona. Arizona could see her best friend's brain spinning a thousand miles per second.

"Teddy? Teddy, breathe. Just breathe," Arizona coached. She turned more towards Teddy and started to massage her friend's hand.

"Pla—plants?" Teddy stuttered.

"Yes," Arizona confirmed. "And they were kind enough to send us some information on their evolution and anatomy." She picked up a PADD from the coffee table and held it out for Teddy to take.

"ARIZONA!" Teddy screamed suddenly as she stood from the couch and started pacing frantically. Arizona nearly jumped out of her skin. "Do you…do you know what this means?"

Arizona just smiled as Teddy bounced excitedly around the room.

"This is…this is the greatest scientific discovery of all time!" Teddy announced.

"Well, I think warp travel ranks pretty highly, too," Arizona quipped.

"I've got to meet their ambassador," Teddy said, stopping still and turning towards Arizona. "Arizona, I am your best friend, you love me, and your girlfriend is the commanding officer. You have _got_ to get me in."

"You're already on the agenda," Arizona coaxed, trying to calm Teddy down before she hurt herself.

"I am?" Teddy said with a disbelieving smile.

"You are," Arizona confirmed. "I saw to it as soon as I found out."

"I love you, Arizona."

"I know," Arizona laughed as she heard the door chime. "Enter."

"Hey guys," Callie said timidly as she entered the room. She was holding flowers and she looked nervous. Things had been so busy in Command for the remainder of the day that Callie and Arizona had never gotten around to resolving their argument. Arizona wanted to still be mad, but the excitement of first contact was making it hard for her to maintain a bad mood.

"Thank you so much!" Teddy squealed as she practically tackled Callie with a hug. Callie's eyes bulged out of her head and she had trouble keeping her balance. As Teddy continued clinging to her, Callie sent Arizona a look over Teddy's shoulder, silently asking her girlfriend what she was being hugged for.

"For agreeing to let her see the Delvian ambassador," Arizona said, filling Callie in.

"Ah," Callie acknowledged. "You're welcome, Dax."

Teddy finally released Callie and realized that she had crumpled the flowers that Callie was holding. "Oh, sorry," Teddy said. "Wait! Give me those!" She aggressively reached to take the flowers out of Callie's hand, but Callie pulled them out of reach.

"No, these are for Arizona," Callie argued, giving Teddy a look like she thought she had lost her mind.

"You shouldn't be giving her flowers!" Teddy said angrily.

"Why not? She's my girlfriend! That's what you do!"

"You shouldn't kill plants! For all we know, they could evolve into people someday!"

Arizona giggled as Callie rolled her eyes. "Chill, Dax," Callie said. "If roses had any intention of becoming people, I think we would have realized it by now. Besides," Callie shrugged. "These are replicated."

"Fine," Teddy said with a huff. She grabbed the PADD that Arizona had offered her earlier and headed out of the room. "I'll be in my room if you guys need me."

"Well she's excited," Callie commented as soon as Teddy had left. She smiled timidly at Arizona as she made her way to the couch.

"You could say that," Arizona smiled as she accepted the roses that Callie held out to her. "Thank you."

"We never got a chance to finish our conversation from earlier."

"No," Arizona said. She looked over at Callie. Callie was giving her puppy dog eyes, and she could tell that her girlfriend was begging her for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, Arizona. I didn't handle last night well," Callie started. "When Aria showed up, I should have introduced you as my girlfriend, and I should have done it loud and clear."

"Yes, you should have," Arizona said, picking gently at some of the rose blossoms Teddy has smashed.

"Arizona, I know you have a hard time believing this, but last night had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me and Aria."

Arizona nodded gently. Her family wasn't particularly difficult outside of their high Starfleet standards, but she knew families could be a pain in the ass. She turned back to look at Callie as she felt Callie's hand tenderly wrap around hers.

"Will you please forgive me, Arizona? And give me a chance to introduce you to my family properly? You're my girlfriend, and I really couldn't be happier about that."

Arizona took a second to examine Callie's chocolate brown eyes. She saw nothing but earnestness and sincerity in them.

"Ok," she said with a gentle sigh. "You're forgiven."

A beautiful smile spread across Callie's face. "Thank you."

Arizona leaned in to place a quick kiss on her girlfriend's mouth. "You wanna stay here with me tonight?" she asked. "I mean, I know we're not ready to do anything, but I wouldn't mind the company." Even though she'd spent the day mad at Callie, she's still missed her girlfriend's presence. Spending the night wrapped up in Callie's arms sounded like the perfect remedy.

Callie smiled broadly at the invitation. "I'd love to."

* * *

**AN: For those of you who are uber sci-fi nerds and caught it-yes, I am borrowing the Delvians from Farscape (please don't sue me, Jim Henson Company). This is because I am the least creative person on the planet and I have no idea how to invent a new species. So thank you, dear Farscape, for the use of your aliens. Give all my love to Aeryn xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: It just occurred to me that some of you may not be aware of what the title, USS Calzona, means. In Star Trek, USS either stands for United Star Ship or United Space Ship (it's debated among Star Trek fans). And obviously you know what Calzona means. So I chose it because it's a little play on words. United is my way of saying "we, the fangirls" and I'm interpreting the word "ship" in terms of "shipping" instead of a space vessel. So essentially the title is my way of saying "Let's ship Calzona in space" or "Let's ship Calzona in the stars." Hehe, aren't I clever? No? Ok, just read the chapter :P And thank you kindly for your reviews.**

* * *

Callie Torres walked towards Command with a definite spring in her step. Waking up wrapped in the arms of Arizona Robbins for two mornings in a row will do that to a person.

At first Callie had wondered why they slept in Arizona's bed—the one in Callie's quarters was larger and came with the added bonus of nobody sleeping in the next room. But maybe it was a good thing that Teddy was nearby and could hear anything above the smallest whisper—it made sex a non-option.

It wasn't that Callie didn't want to sleep with Arizona. She did—desperately. But there were certain conversations Callie wanted to have with Arizona before they had sex. A certain amount of emotional baggage that the blonde should be prepared for. But those conversations would bring up Callie's trust issues. Abandonment issues. _Erica_ issues. And Callie wasn't ready for that yet.

Callie knew that she needed to let Arizona in emotionally before she could let her in physically. Callie had tried sex without trust and commitment before, and it hadn't gone well. She'd tried to use sex to get over Erica, to forget her. But she'd found no comfort in it. It had been desensitizing and degrading, and Callie had hated herself. So she refused to go down that path again, and she refused to hurt Arizona in the process.

_Soon_, Callie had told herself as she'd drifted off to sleep in Arizona's arms the night before. _I better be able to talk about this soon_. She could sense the blonde's readiness for physical intimacy, and she could also tell that Arizona was only holding back out of respect for her. Callie had no idea how Arizona could read her so well, and she didn't know what she'd done to deserve such an honorable woman, but she was grateful for it. However, Arizona was definitely ready, and Callie wanted to be too. She didn't know how much longer she could keep herself from putting her hands all over Arizona's delicious-looking body. Callie had never wanted a woman so badly in her life.

"Morning everyone!" Callie said excitedly as she stepped into the Command center. Her crew had been preparing diligently for the Delvian ambassador's arrival, and everything seemed to be falling into place nicely. "Burke, what's left before he gets here tomorrow?"

Preston Burke stood up a little straighter and adjusted his uniform. Callie couldn't fault the man—he had done a superb job in helping her prepare to receive the Delvian delegation. But she would have rather worked with Arizona, and she'd never missed having the blonde as her first officer more. Burke was just…_pompous_.

"Everything is in order, ma'am. Details for the reception are set, Cristina has set up an excellent security plan, and the agenda has been finalized."

"So basically we've got nothing to do today?" Callie joked as she poured her morning coffee. They always had things to do.

Burke smiled. "Appears that way, ma'am."

"That's what I like to hear, Preston!" She sent her first officer a smile before moving closer to Arizona's tactical station.

"Morning," Callie said as she rested her arms on Arizona's station. She leaned in so no one but the blonde could hear her. "Again."

"Good morning, Commander," Arizona said flirtatiously. "I trust you slept well?"

"Mmm, very well," Callie murmured. "I had a _very_ sexy woman in my bed all night." Callie knew she was being a little ridiculous—she and Arizona had of course woken up and eaten breakfast with each other, so there really was no need for morning pleasantries. But she was having fun.

"Really?" Arizona replied. "That's a coincidence. So did I."

Callie gave Arizona once last seductive smile before she stood up straight and resumed a more professional posture. They _were_ in Command, after all.

"So um, you're still ok with going tonight? Because if you're not, just say so. There is no shame in cancelling. We could just stay in and—"

"Callie!" Arizona interrupted her babbling girlfriend. "I already told you I'm fine with it."

"Ok," Callie smiled. "I'll be in my office."

True to form, Aria had reported back to her mother after she'd seen Callie and Arizona at Joe's. A dinner invitation had arrived at eight the next morning. Callie had been too distracted by her spat with Arizona and the news of first contact with the Delvians to do much with the invitation, but she'd finally gotten around to asking Arizona about it. So the two women were expected for dinner at precisely seven o'clock.

She'd never tell anyone, but Callie was more nervous about dinner with her family than receiving the Delvian ambassador. _You're pathetic_, Callie told herself. _You're more concerned about your family liking your girlfriend than about galactic politics and stability_. She couldn't really help it though—she really liked Arizona, and she was hoping her family would too.

* * *

"Arizona, relax. Your hair looks fine." Callie placed a calming hand on her girlfriend's back. "They're going to love you."

Arizona nodded and tried to mentally psyche herself out. She hadn't been nervous about meeting Callie's family this morning, but somehow anxiety had been piling up in the last hour. She'd never met a girlfriend's parents before.

"Ready?" Callie said, raising an eyebrow. Arizona gave a tight nod. Callie chuckled lightly as she pressed the door chime outside her parents' quarters. Arizona knew that Callie was nervous as well, but somehow her commanding officer was adept at hiding it. Probably all that training Callie had in diplomacy and negotiation.

"Calliope!" a man called out as soon as the door slid open. A man who Arizona knew was Callie's father, Carlos, wrapped his arms around Callie and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey Daddy," Callie smiled.

Carlos released his daughter with a grin and turned to Arizona. "And you must be Arizona Robbins. I'm Carlos Torres. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you, sir," Arizona said politely, giving the man a firm handshake.

"Carlos is fine, dear," he said reassuringly.

"Carlos. Sorry," Arizona corrected herself.

"And this is my darling wife, Lucia," Carlos said as he was joined by his wife. Arizona politely shook Lucia's hand as well.

"Well come in, come in," said Lucia. I've got some appetizers on the coffee table, and dinner will be served in about 45 minutes."

"Mama, where are Michael and Aria?" Callie asked as she led Arizona to the couch.

"They should be here in a minute," Lucia shrugged as she joined them in the sitting area. "I told them the same time."

"Can I get you girls some wine?" Carlos offered.

"Yes please," Callie responded. "Red for me and white for Arizona."

Arizona smirked to herself. Callie knew her well.

"So Arizona," Lucia started. "Callie tells me that you're one of her senior officers?"

"Yes, ma'am," Arizona nodded. "And it's an honor to work for a Commander as accomplished as your daughter."

"Where were you stationed before the _Seattle_?" Lucia continued, ignoring Arizona's compliment. It was obvious that while she loved Callie, she wasn't overly impressed by her daughter's career. Callie had explained that having babies was what counted in her family.

"I was on the Viper right out of the academy. It's just a small science vessel that was on a survey team in the Gamma quadrant. And then after Command school I was Chief Flight Officer on the Enterprise." She nodded to Carlos and said a quick "Thank you," when he handed her some wine and then took a seat himself.

"The Enterprise?" Lucia asked, her eyes widening. "That's quite the—" she paused when she heard the door chime. "Enter!" she called out. "That's quite the accomplishment," she finished as she got up to greet the rest of her family.

"Grandma!" a little boy squealed as he bounded through the door and wrapped his arms around Lucia.

"Is that Troy or Gavin?" Arizona whispered to Callie.

"Troy. Troy's wearing red and Gavin's in blue."

"Got it," Arizona said with a nod. She knew Gavin was two years older than Troy, but as far as she was concerned, they were identical.

"Auntie Callie, look!" an excited Hailey ran over and plopped herself in Callie's lap. "I made this for you at school." She proudly held a drawing up for her aunt to view.

"Wow," said Callie encouragingly, angling the drawing so that Arizona could see as well. The drawing contained a very misshapen person dressed in a red Starfleet uniform and with flowing black hair. That meant the person was either Callie or "Admiral" Hailey. There was also something that could either be the _Seattle_ or a spaceship—Arizona wasn't quite sure. "That's so nice of you sweetie, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Auntie Callie," Hailey said sweetly. Arizona felt her heart melting. This girl was adorable.

"Hailey, do you remember Arizona from where I work?"

Hailey looked over at Arizona and nodded shyly. "Mm hmm."

"Can you say hello?"

"Hi Arizona," Hailey said with a smile.

"Good evening, Admiral. It's a privilege to see you again," Arizona said in a playfully formal tone. Hailey rewarded her with a toothy grin.

"Hey ladies, Dad," Aria said as she entered the sitting area, a glass of wine in her hand. She took a seat on the couch across from Callie and Arizona and next to Carlos.

"It's nice to see you again, Aria," Arizona smiled. She'd been stunned by how similar Aria and Callie looked when they had met at Joe's, but under better lighting, the resemblance was even more striking. Aria was a little shorter and lacked Callie's powerfully-built bone structure, but they were otherwise quite alike.

Aria smiled. "Well you've already met Hailey, and this little guy," she paused as she reached out and dragged Troy into the sitting area, "is Troy, my younger son."

"It's very nice to meet you, Troy," Arizona said.

When the little boy looked scared and didn't say anything, Aria commented, "You'll have to excuse him. He's a little shy."

Arizona smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she had been in a family environment with small children. It was nice.

"Hey Gavin!" Aria called to her eldest. "Come over here and meet Callie's friend, please!"

Gavin came obediently over from where he'd been having a conversation with his father and grandmother.

"Gav, this Arizona," Callie said, giving Arizona's hand a quick squeeze.

"Nice to meet you," he said, walking straight up to Arizona and offering his hand. He was clearly the most outgoing of the three Santos children.

"You too," Arizona said as she shook his hand and smiled.

"Are you Auntie Callie's girlfriend?" he asked bluntly.

Arizona chuckled, and, after getting subtle encouragement from Callie, responded, "Yes, I am."

"So do I call you Auntie Arizona, then?"

Arizona felt her face flush a little. It was still a little _early_ for Callie's nieces and nephews to think of her as their aunt. "Uh, well…" she stuttered, not sure how to respond.

"Uh, no, Gavin," Callie said quickly.

"But I always called Auntie Erica "Auntie"," he said, clearly confused.

Aria coughed as she suddenly choked on her wine. "Gavin!" she rasped out as she quickly stood. She grabbed the boy and quickly ushered him out of the sitting area, throwing a wide-eyed, apologetic look in Callie's direction.

Arizona slowly turned to look at Callie. She'd learned of this Erica's existence when Hailey had shown her Aria's wedding picture, but she was sure that Callie thought she didn't know a thing.

Callie was staring at the spot where Gavin had stood. Her skin was a shade or two paler than normal, and her wine was shaking dangerously in her hands.

"Here, baby," Arizona said, gently taking Callie's wine and placing it on the coffee table before it spilled on the carpet. She then place a hand on her girlfriend's back and started rubbing it in slow, comforting circles. "You ok, Callie?"

Callie nodded numbly before abruptly standing. Arizona just watched as Callie walked quickly out of the living area and further into the Torres' quarters.

* * *

"Callie?" Arizona called gently as she knocked on the door. She'd spent ten awkward minutes discussing the Delvians with Callie's family before finally going to search for her girlfriend. When Callie gave no response, Arizona slid the door open and peeked inside the room. Callie was sitting quietly on the edge of a bed. Arizona quietly entered the room and closed the door behind her. Then she slowly approached the bed, careful to pick up on any signs that Callie didn't want her there. When Callie didn't seem to mind her presence, she sat down next to Callie and crossed her legs, her body partially angled towards her girlfriend.

The two women sat quietly on the end of the bed for a few minutes, before Callie finally looked up at Arizona. Arizona could see that Callie's eyes were watery, but it didn't look like Callie had shed any actual tears.

"Hey," Arizona said quietly, trying to communicate to Callie that she was there to support her, not judge her. She knew that, as Hailey had said, talk of Erica made Callie "sad," but the pain in Callie's eyes…she hadn't been prepared for it. Who was Erica? Had she hurt Callie? Had she died?

"Hey," Callie sniffed. She took a deep breath before she scooted back a bit and mimicked Arizona's crossed legs and posture.

"Callie," Arizona said, taking one of Callie's hands and kissing her palm gently. "I don't know who this Erica person is or was, but if you don't want to talk about her…you don't have to. Not for my sake." Arizona desperately wanted to know who this woman from Callie's past was, but she didn't want to find out at the cost of Callie's happiness.

"Thanks," Callie said, her eyes full of warmth for Arizona. She let out a deep breath. "I met Erica Hahn during orientation week at the Academy. Mark, too. The three of us became friends really quickly and Erica and I…well we really hit it off."

Arizona nodded in understanding, urging Callie to continue.

"She and I were together for nine years."

Arizona let out a small gasp. She hadn't been expecting that Callie had been with someone for that long. Arizona herself had never been in a relationship that lasted longer than four months.

"We dated all through the Academy, and then we were both assigned to the Buenos Aires after graduation. I was Ops, she was in Engineering. We stayed for three years before leaving to attend Command School together."

Callie paused for a moment and looked at Arizona with a worried look in her eyes. Arizona could tell that Callie was reluctant to say what came next.

"Before we left the Buenos Aires she…she asked me to marry her. And I said yes."

Arizona swallowed hard. She wasn't entirely surprised by this revelation—she'd seen the rings in Aria's wedding picture. But hearing it from Callie still hurt. She didn't enjoy the fact that Callie had promised her lifelong love and devotion to…someone else.

Still, Callie was being open and honest with her, and she knew that this conversation had to be painful and uncomfortable for her girlfriend. Arizona gave Callie's hand another squeeze and small kiss. She had a million questions to ask, but she was trying her best to let Callie finish.

"That's—that's why Gavin remembers her. She was a daily part of his life for the first three years of it."

Arizona nodded. By her count, Gavin would have been 3 or 4 years old by the time Callie and Erica finished Command School.

"So um," Callie paused to wipe a tear out of her eyes. Whatever Erica had done, or however Erica had died, Arizona anticipated that Callie was getting to it. "We uh, we had plans to get married a month after we finished Command School. We were both lined up to be on the Miami together. I was going to be first officer, and she was going to be Chief Engineer."

Arizona squeezed Callie's hand a bit tighter when Callie started to cry softly.

"About two months before we graduated, Erica received another placement option. Chief Engineer about a deep space exploration vessel. She-she wanted to take it, and she said she could get me a post there as first officer or tactical officer." Callie paused to wipe another tear away. "But I didn't want to. I wanted to stay on a ship where it was possible to see my family—to see Erica's family—when we were on leave."

Arizona continued to listen quietly. She had a sinking feeling in her gut about where this was headed. Separate postings spelled doom for most Starfleet couples.

"We fought about it like crazy for a week, but then she relented, and agreed to stick with our original plan to serve on the Miami. And everything went back to normal. We finished our exams and graduated. And then…" Callie took a deep breath and looked down. "And then two weeks before our wedding, she just…left."

"What…what do you mean she just _left_?" Arizona asked, feeling slightly bewildered.

"One night, we said our "I love you's" and went to bed, the same as every other night for the previous nine years, and…and in the morning, she was gone."

Arizona closed her eyes briefly. She couldn't imagine what that must have been like for Callie. "Did she leave a note?"

Callie shook her head no. She still hadn't looked up from her lap. "I, I tried to call her. I tracked her down and found that she'd taken the position on the deep space vessel. I was…I was willing to go with her. I was willing to do _anything_. But she refused to answer my calls. Her parents refused to speak to me. She just…left. I haven't heard from her since."

"Oh, Calliope," Arizona murmured as she drew her girlfriend into her arms, neither woman noticing Arizona's use of Callie's full name. Callie started to sob gently into Arizona's shoulder. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Arizona whispered, kissing Callie's hair.

Arizona was feeling a million feelings at once. Jealousy over Callie's previous relationship. Sorrow for Callie's pain. Anger about Erica's actions. As Arizona held Callie tightly, she was at a loss for how someone could do that. Erica had completely abandoned the woman she'd been with for _nine_ years. She hadn't said goodbye. She'd denied Callie any chance for closure.

"Shh, shh," Arizona coaxed as she rubbed Callie's back. "I've got you. And I'm not going anywhere." As Callie continued to sob, Arizona continued to sit quietly, her heart breaking for the woman in her arms.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Sorry this update took a little longer than usual. I'm in grad school, and sometimes grad school just...happens. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Good morning, Commander Torres. The time is seven a.m. You have one urgent notice. The Delvian ambassador's ship will arrive in approximately 4.2 hours. You have five non-urgent notices."

"Off," Callie groaned, her voice still hoarse from sleep. The computer fell silent as Callie tried to cocoon herself back into her covers.

"Morning," Arizona's voice whispered sweetly. A small grin broke out across Callie's face as she felt the blonde start to lay gentle kisses on her neck and behind her ear.

"Mmm, morning," Callie smiled. She reached for Arizona's arm, which had spent the night wrapped securely around her body, and gave Arizona's hand a warm squeeze.

"Your bed is much more comfortable than mine," Arizona commented as she continued kissing Callie's neck. Callie chuckled as she slowly turned around to face the blonde. "Hey," Arizona said when Callie's eyes finally met hers.

"Hey," Callie said with a broad smile. Arizona had an adorable case of bedhead, and Callie couldn't resist reaching out to caress several strands out of Arizona's face and behind her ear.

"Did you sleep well?" Arizona asked, giving Callie's hand a quick kiss once it was done neatening her hair.

"Mm hmm," Callie nodded enthusiastically. She _had_ slept well—incredibly well. Better than she'd slept in a long time. She'd gotten a lot off of her chest the night before, and now that things were more out in the open with Arizona, she felt significantly more relaxed.

After Callie had pulled herself together enough to face her family, she and Arizona had quietly excused themselves from the Torres residence and headed back to Callie's quarters. And there, for the first time since Erica had left, Callie had opened up. Sure, she'd had conversations with her family and she'd shared quite a bit with Mark, but she'd never before let it all spill out before. In her head, she knew she was a little crazy—she hadn't even known Arizona two months—but her heart was already telling her that Arizona was someone important, someone significant. Someone she could trust.

So the two women had sat on Callie's couch and Callie had let it all out. She'd shared how bewildered she'd been. Callie had been with Erica her entire adult life, and when she left, Callie had found that she didn't know quite how to be a _person_ without her.

She'd shared how angry she'd been. Erica had walked away without a second thought and without an explanation. And she'd done so to more than just Callie—Callie's family had accepted Erica as a third daughter. Gavin had cried for his Auntie Erica for months, and Aria had had to deal with a distraught little boy who didn't understand why his auntie didn't love him anymore.

She'd shared how betrayed and hurt she'd been. How painful it had been to have Erica's parents and family reject her too. Erica's parents had been like her own parents, and Erica's brother had been the brother she'd never had. And when Erica had walked away, they'd all walked away as well.

And then, finally, she'd shared how she'd gotten better. Sure, she'd had a few bumps on the road. She'd explained how she was still ashamed of using Dax's prior host, how she hadn't liked the person she'd become. But she'd also explained how Erica's departure had forced her to examine herself and discover who she really was. Callie had always followed Erica's lead and followed Erica's decisions. When she'd left, Callie was finally given the opportunity to grow, to stand on her own two feet, and to make a life for herself. She'd finally begun to lead instead of being led, and six years later, it had helped her become the decorated and universally-respected commanding officer that she was.

"So, are you over her?" Arizona had asked with concern. "Are you even ready for a relationship with me?"

"Yes, absolutely," Callie had responded. After her somewhat disastrous relationship with Marissa Dax, Callie had kept to herself. She'd given up on dating and focused on her career. But there, sitting on her couch, she'd realized that she was finally ready. Arizona Robbins was extraordinary, and Callie hadn't known her for very long, but it just felt _right_. Callie found herself mesmerized by the blonde, and she'd never felt that before—not even with Erica.

"Because, I know you guys weren't _technically_ married," Arizona had continued. "But for all intents and purposes, you were. You were with her for nine years."

"I know," Callie had sighed. "And that's a lot to take. If you need time to process, or it's too much for you, I get it."

"Callie, I—" Arizona had looked down. "My feelings for you are…pretty strong. And I'm not upset with you _at all_ about your past. I just want to make sure you're ready, because we could both get hurt if you're not."

"Hey, hey," Callie had said as she'd reached out to hold Arizona's hand. "I'll admit that it kind of took me by surprise, but with you? I'm ready. I feel things for you that…that I've never felt before. And I want to be with you. Arizona, I absolutely want to be with you."

"Except with Erica," Arizona had muttered.

"What?"

"Things you've never felt before, except with Erica."

"No," Callie had shaken her head. "Erica was…she was my best friend. And I loved her, I did. And I would have married her." Callie hesitated for a second to look at Arizona, who was still staring at her lap. "But, with you, it's just…different. I, I don't know how to explain it, because I can't put it into words. And I know that it's early, and it scares the hell out of me to admit this, but," Callie paused and exhaled slowly. "But you're special to me, Arizona. Erica was my best friend; my partner. But you? Arizona, you could be…more than that." _You could be the love of my life_.

Arizona had looked up from her lap and right into Callie's eyes. Callie didn't know how to say it, and didn't want to freak Arizona out by saying too much. But when blue eyes had met brown, Callie had done her best to show Arizona how sincere she was being. How important Arizona was to her. How amazing she thought they could be together.

Something that looked like a mixture of hesitant belief and incomplete reassurance had passed through Arizona's eyes. Callie had opened her mouth, grasping for additional words that could convince the blonde, but Arizona had cut her off.

"Can we go to bed? Big day tomorrow." Her eyes had been pleading—apparently Arizona had had enough of this conversation for the night.

So they'd gone to bed. The past two nights they'd slept next to each other, they'd slept in each other's arms. A friendly, warm embrace. But that night, Arizona had wrapped her arms protectively around Callie. She'd climbed into bed behind Callie and had put her body between Callie and the door. Callie had drifted off to sleep knowing that she was the safest and most secure woman in the galaxy. Arizona Robbins had her.

* * *

Commander Callie Torres stood tall and proud outside of Docking Bay 47. Her dress uniform was crisp and wrinkle-free, and her face was calm and poised. _You got this, Torres_, she thought to herself. _This is what you were born for_. The Delvian ambassador's ship was about to dock.

To her right stood a stoic-looking Preston Burke and an expressionless Cristina Yang, both standing at attention and wearing their own dress uniforms. Callie had heard the latest gossip from Mark, and apparently Burke and Yang were an item. Callie had thought he was joking, but Mark—who was a better gossip than any _woman_ she'd ever met—has assured her that he was being serious. Serious. That was a good word to describe her first officer and security officer. _I wonder what they do on date night,_ Callie mused. _Play chess? Go over security reports?_

To her left stood an anything _but_ stoic-looking Arizona Robbins. Arizona was practically bouncing with excitement. Callie thought it was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. It also didn't hurt that she thought Arizona's dress uniform made her ass look better, if that was possible. Callie felt a pang of guilt as she looked at Arizona. It wasn't typical for a tactical officer to accompany the commanding officer when a diplomat was received. That was the job of the first officer. But Arizona was supposed to be first officer, and she didn't want to deny Arizona the experience of the _Seattle_'s first diplomatic visit. Judging by Arizona's excitement, she was just happy to be there. But Callie still felt guilty about the series of events that led to Arizona's demotion.

"Alright, here we go," Callie said when the information panel beside the door indicated that the ship had docked and atmosphere had been restored. She slid the door open and led her officers into the docking bay. Before them stood a small shuttlecraft. From her hours of pouring over data about the Delvians, Callie immediately recognized the ship as being distinctively Delvian in design. Instead of being the sturdy grey of most Federation ships, this shuttle was a vibrant blue and green. It looked light and nimble. Callie held her breath as the shuttle's door opened. Moments later, several Delvians stepped out, and they were…beautiful.

Callie gasped quietly before her face broke out in a large smile. She'd seen pictures and videos of Delvians during her briefings, but they were something else in person. Tall, lean, and a gorgeous shade of blue, they looked calm and serene. Their blue skin was covered with intricate patterns of green and a lighter shade of blue. Callie had met her fair share of species in her lifetime, but she was pretty sure she'd seen few as breathtaking as the Delvians.

"Greetings," Callie said as the Delvians approached her. "My name is Commander Torres, and as the commanding officer of the Federation Starbase _Seattle_, I would like to officially welcome you aboard."

"Thank you," one of the Delvian men said with a gentle bow. "When we met with your fleet, members of your Federation had an exceedingly difficult time pronouncing our names, so we have chosen names from your culture to make it easier for you."

Callie felt relief at his words. She'd been practicing this man's name for the past 4 days, and she hadn't had much luck.

"I am Delvia's chief ambassador to your people," the man continued. "And you may call me Henry."

* * *

"Well?!"

"Teddy, I didn't stick around after we met them at the docking bay. I had to get back to Command." Arizona tried her best to ignore Teddy's enthusiasm as she touched up her makeup.

"But you _saw_ them, didn't you?" Teddy leaned over the sink, trying to force Arizona to listen to her.

"Teds, you're in my light," Arizona complained. She just had a few minutes to fix her hair and makeup before she and Teddy were due at the Delvians' formal reception.

"Sorry," Teddy huffed as she leaned back. "Can you please just tell me what they were like?"

Arizona sighed in annoyance. Teddy could be persistent at times. "We walked into the shuttle bay. They got out of their shuttle. They were blue. Callie welcomed them to the station. The main guy told us to call him Henry. Then he introduced his advisors and Callie introduced me, Yang, and Burke. Then I went back to Command while Callie showed them around the station."

"Oh come _on_," Teddy growled, frustrated by Arizona's factual answer. "What were they like?"

"Teddy!" Arizona threw her makeup back into her bag. She turned towards her best friend and grabbed both of her shoulders. "You are going to see them in a few minutes. Calm down!"

"I can't!" Teddy squealed as she threw her arms around Arizona and rocked them back and forth. "I'm too excited!"

"Teddy,I just did my hair!" Arizona complained. She was nervous to see Callie, and she wanted to look perfect. She felt that something about Callie's emotional breakdown, her honesty, had brought the two women closer. Not that Arizona liked to see Callie in pain, but she'd appreciated how open and vulnerable Callie had been with her. So she wanted to look perfect. Arizona couldn't quite admit it to herself, but she was hoping that night might be the night they finally slept together.

Teddy, however, didn't know any of this, so she continued to hug Arizona and mess up her hair. Arizona pouted when she realized Teddy wasn't going to stop. Sighing, she wrapped her arms around her friend. "I love you, too."

* * *

"I want to thank you for your hospitality, Commander. You've made me and my advisors feel very welcome."

Callie smiled at Henry's words. They day really _had_ gone well. The Delvians had arrived around lunch time, so she and Burke had accompanied them to a small meal in a private dining room. Then they'd embarked on a tour of the _Seattle_. Being capable of housing 50,000 people, a _complete_ tour obviously wasn't possible—the station was too large. But she'd shown the Delvians Command, the Promenade, sick-bay, and several of the station's more interesting research and science labs.

"Thank you, Henry," Callie smiled. "We're very glad to have you here, and we're also very eager to establish a friendship between our two peoples."

Henry inclined his head towards Callie and raised his glass towards her. She mimicked his actions and leaned back in her chair once she'd taken a sip. They were seated at a table in the station's official reception hall. The room was filled with all of her senior officers, some of her higher-ranking junior officers, most of the station's research department heads, the governing board of the Aurora Colony, and the Delvian delegation. Everyone was currently mingling and enjoying hors d'oeuvres, and Callie's eyes involuntarily searched for Arizona. They found the blonde close to the bar, standing next to Dax, and laughing at something Ensign Karev had just said. Karev's month of being confined to quarters wasn't quite up, but Arizona had begged Callie to spring him out just for the reception, and Callie had relented.

"You seem very close to your officers," Henry commented.

"Hmm?" Callie asked, her eyes returning to Henry. "Oh, um, yes, I guess so," Callie said.

"Particularly that female over there with the yellow hair," Henry said, turning his head towards Arizona. "I believe you said that she's your tactical officer? Arizona?"

"Yes," Callie blushed. Was she _that_ obvious? "She and I are, uh, involved in a personal relationship."

"Well I'm not well educated on your society's standards of beauty, but she strikes me as being very attractive."

Callie beamed. "She is. She's beautiful."

Henry smiled at the love written all over Callie's face. "Well, I'm pleased that your culture encourages such relationships. Over the years, we have met other species who are not so open about love."

"Hmm," Callie nodded as she took another sip of her drink. All this talk of Arizona, beauty, and love made her wish she was over at the bar with Arizona, instead of sitting at a table across the room.

"That woman standing next to her, what is her name?" Henry asked.

"That's Dr. Teddy Dax," Callie replied. "She actually heads up our Botany Department, funny enough."

"Botany?" Henry asked. Callie nodded and smiled. He turned to look towards Teddy again. "So would she like to meet me? I'm a plant after all!" He looked back at Callie with a charming smile.

"I'm sure she'd love to meet you," Callie said. _Love being the understatement of the millennium_. "Do you, uh, consider her to be attractive as well?" Maybe she was reading the Delvian ambassador incorrectly, but his interest in Dax seemed to be more than professional.

"Very much so," Henry nodded. Then a look of concern fell upon his face. "Are my people visually pleasing to yours? Will she think I'm…strange-looking?"

"No, not at all," Callie said with a laugh. "I've had several people comment to me today how beautiful your people are."

"Excellent!" Henry looked pleased. "Would you mind introducing us?"

"Not at all," Callie smiled. She was happy to introduce Henry to Dax. This way, she'd get to see Arizona. She looked over towards the bar where Arizona, Teddy, and Karev were still standing and willed her girlfriend to look over at her. Somehow, Arizona managed to find her gaze after about three seconds. Callie waved at her and gestured for her and Teddy to come over. Arizona smiled back, grabbed Teddy's hand, and started to walk towards the table where Henry and Callie were seated. Callie smiled to herself. Did she and Arizona have some form of ESP? Or did the blonde simply look over at Callie as often as Callie looked at her? Callie found that either was a satisfactory explanation.

"Ambassador," Callie said as she and the Delvian stood up to greet the women. "This is Arizona Robbins, who you met this morning." Arizona and Henry nodded a greeting to each other. "And this is Teddy Dax, our head botanist." Teddy stuck out her hand and shook Henry's excitedly.

"Such an extreme honor to meet you, ambassador!" Teddy said. Callie found Teddy's enthusiasm to be pretty hilarious. By the look on Arizona's face, so did her girlfriend.

"Likewise," Henry said as the four of them sat at the table. As they got settled, Callie gave Arizona's thigh a quick squeeze.

"How was your day?" she murmured. She hadn't had much of a chance to talk with Arizona since that morning.

"Good," Arizona whispered back, before returning her attention to Henry.

"So, Commander Torres here tells me that you're a botanist?" Henry started.

"Yes!" Teddy replied with a smile. "And I love plants, so when Arizona told me that the Delvians had evolved from plants, I was beyond thrilled. We have so much to learn from you!" When Henry just smiled back at her, she started to panic. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I probably made it sound like I want to take you back to my lab and study you!"

"She probably _does_," Callie muttered to Arizona under her breath. Arizona gave her a playful smirk in return.

"No, no," Henry reassured the frazzled botanist. "I'd be happy to teach you anything you'd like to know about my people. And going with you and having you…_study_ me doesn't sound like the worst fate."

Callie's eyes widened and she had to stifle a laugh. Was the Delvian ambassador _flirting_ with Teddy? The _plant_ was flirting with the _botanist_? This was too good.

* * *

"So Teddy and Henry seemed to hit it off pretty well," Arizona smiled as she leaned over Callie's dresser and took out her earrings.

"Mm hmm," she heard Callie agree with her distractedly. Arizona shifted her eyes away from her ears and towards Callie's reflection in the mirror. Callie was sitting on the bed, still clad in her dress uniform, and her eyes were glued on Arizona's ass. Arizona smirked as she looked away from Callie's reflection and took out the other earring. Turning around to face her girlfriend, Arizona saw Callie's eyes snap upward from her ass and towards her breasts. Which was funny, seeing as how Arizona's dress uniform revealed absolutely no cleavage.

"Like what you see?" Arizona asked with flirtatious smile. She leaned back against Callie's dresser and allowed her girlfriend to continue ogling her.

"Mm hmm," Callie said again, this time with much more enthusiasm. Arizona laughed as Callie nodded her head up and down repeatedly. There was a look of hunger in Callie's eyes that Arizona hadn't seen before, and it had her entire body on edge.

"You wanna see more?" Arizona didn't know why she was feeling so shy—she was usually confident in these situations. But whatever she had going on with Callie felt special.

Callie's eyes finally met Arizona's, and the blonde felt her breath hitch when she saw how dark they were. Callie nodded again, but this time it was less playful and more timid. Arizona smiled shyly as she slowly removed the top of her uniform, letting it fall to the floor. When Callie licked her lips and smiled at the sight of Arizona in her tiny black tank top, Arizona took that as a good sign. She carefully kicked off her boots and removed her pants. Callie continued to stare appreciatively and Arizona began to feel more and more self-conscious. Here she was, standing in nothing but a skin-tight tank and boy shorts, in front of Commander Callie Torres. Her commanding officer. Her hero. Her…lover?

Apparently sensing Arizona's discomfort, Callie stood and walked over to the dresser. "You are so beautiful," she whispered as she placed her hands on Arizona's exposed hips and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. Arizona smiled and responded by placing both of her hands on Callie's face and drawing her in for a kiss. They kissed tentatively for a few moments, but Callie soon deepened the kiss and began grinding Arizona back into the dresser.

"Callie?" Arizona asked when Callie pulled back for a quick breath of air.

"Hmm?" Callie asked, her lips and tongue already back on Arizona's.

"Can I…can I take off your clothes, too?" Callie pulled back slightly, and Arizona found herself staring into beautiful dark brown eyes. Callie smiled for a second before lifting her arms, allowing Arizona to remove her top.

"Mmm," Arizona moaned in approval at the gorgeous expanse of skin that had been revealed. She waited impatiently as Callie removed her own boots and pants. "Bed?" she asked Callie hopefully.

Callie smirked. "Bed."

Arizona grinned for a second before letting out a yelp of surprise as Callie threw her down roughly on the bed. "Callie!" she exclaimed in objection, but her protests went ignored as Callie launched an assault on her neck.

It felt good—so good. And it felt like she'd been waiting to do this for her entire life. Arizona had casually fantasized about Callie when she was a teenage girl, but ever since meeting Callie, getting to know Callie, kissing Callie…the wait had felt like an eternity. And now Arizona was lying flat on her back, on Callie's bed, trapped blissfully under Callie's weight.

Needing to see Callie's eyes again, Arizona put a hand under her girlfriend's chin and pulled her back up for a kiss. As she continued to kiss her girlfriend, she felt herself becoming more and more excited. Arizona pulled out of the kiss for a moment. She needed to make sure this was _actually going to happen_ before she became too aroused to stop.

"Are you, are you ok with this?" she asked Callie shyly.

Callie smiled and kissed Arizona's forehead. "Yeah, yeah I'm more than OK with this. Are you?"

"Yes," Arizona laughed. She was ready. She'd been ready for quite some time. "I just…with everything that you've been through in the past 24 hours…your family and…" Arizona trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say Erica's name when she and Callie were being so intimate.

"I'm ready, Arizona," Callie reassured. "I'm not going to regret this in the morning."

"Ok," Arizona nodded, hoping that Callie was telling the truth. She would be crushed if this was too early—if this messed things up. "If you're sure?"

"Arizona?" Callie asked.

"Hmm?"

"Make love to me."

Arizona felt her heart soar as Callie leaned back down and placed a kiss on her mouth. This was actually going to happen. She finally let herself relax and felt her body start to take over.

"As you wish, Commander."

* * *

Arizona Robbins awoke with a smile on her face. She didn't need to open her eyes to know where she was. She was lying naked in Callie's bed, tucked away safely in Callie's arms, and she was sore in all the right places. Arizona felt a blush cross her face as images of the previous night flashed through her mind. Teddy had been right: glorious was the only word appropriate to describe her girlfriend's body. Callie's body was a work of art. A majestic display of smooth, soft skin and full, luxurious curves. Arizona could spend the rest of her life worshipping those curves. She'd thought her calling in life was to be a Starfleet officer, but last night she'd discovered she'd been wrong. Her calling in life was to make love to Calliope Torres. Over and over and over and over again.

Arizona slowly turned around, careful not to awaken the goddess in whose arms she had slept. She let out a quiet gasp at the sight of Callie sleeping soundly, her silky black hair splayed out on the pillow. This woman was truly awe inspiring. "I love you," she whispered quietly, so quietly that she could barely hear her own voice. "And I'll never abandon you, or let anyone hurt you, _ever _again."

* * *

Callie Torres awoke to the familiar scent of Arizona. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled when she was greeted by the sight of the blonde cuddled up tightly against her. Arizona's face was scrunched up in concern and she was muttering incoherently in her sleep. Callie had never seen anything more adorable in her life. She leaned forward and left a whisper of a kiss on Arizona's pouting lips, causing the blonde's face to relax and her murmuring to cease. Callie sighed contentedly as she watched Arizona drift back into a peaceful sleep.

Last night had been…perfect. Better than perfect. Callie had marveled at the blonde's flawless skin, at her legs that went on for miles. Their bodies just…fit together like they'd been made for each other. And Arizona had taken Callie by surprise. Ever the commander, Callie usually found herself in control. But after Callie's initial assault, Arizona had dominated her, and Callie had loved every minute of it. Arizona was so attentive, so gentle, so loving. Never in her life had Callie felt so satisfied, yet so desperately hungry for more. As Callie leaned forward to brush a loose strand of golden hair behind Arizona's ear, she made a silent promise to her sleeping angel. _I think I might be in love with you, Arizona Robbins. I'm not sure yet, and I'm not ready to tell you, but I promise that I'll never ever ever let you go_.

* * *

**Sorry, I don't write smut. You'll have to use your imaginations :P**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I mention a black robe in this chapter. It's supposed to look exactly like the one Callie wore earlier this season (S9), because I thought she looked fantastic in it.**

* * *

Arizona slid the door open and tried to be quiet. Teddy was _not_ a morning person, and, judging by the heavy amount of flirting going on between her best friend and the Delvian ambassador the night before, Arizona would not have been surprised if Teddy had had a _very_ late night.

Her attempts to be quiet, however, were quickly foiled when she let out a high pitched squeal of shock and knocked over a vase of Teddy's Antarian moon blossoms that had been sitting on the shelf next to the door. There, in the center of her living room, was the Delvian ambassador. He was sitting cross legged on the floor, and he was naked.

Henry's eyes popped open at the sound of Arizona's exclamation and the crashing vase—he apparently hadn't heard the door open.

"Ah, Arizona!" he said pleasantly. "I didn't mean to frighten you—I was just going through my morning meditations."

"Uh, uh," Arizona stuttered. His _meditations_ weren't what had startled her. "No problem." She could feel her cheeks flushing as she tried to avoid looking at the naked ambassador.

"I've made some breakfast," he said as he stood. "Would you like some?"

"Whoa!" Arizona said as she looked away and held out a hand in protest. She'd definitely caught an eyeful when Henry had gotten up from his position on the floor.

"Oh," Henry said with concern. He had apparently finally noticed Arizona's reluctance to look at him. "Does my appearance bother you?"

"Um," Arizona said, staring at her shoes. "Uh, uh…you're very uh…" she paused, not knowing quite how to say it. "You're just a little…naked."

"Your culture is not accustomed to seeing others without clothing on?" Henry asked, still clueless.

"Nope!" Arizona laughed, still looking away.

"Curious," Henry said as he retrieved his robe from the couch. "Teddy did not seem to mind."

Arizona's eyes bulged out of her head a little bit and she felt her blush deepening. _No, I'm sure Teddy didn't mind at all_.

"Speaking of Teddy, where is she?" Arizona asked. She knew Henry was now dressed, but was still too embarrassed to look at him.

"I believe she's still sleeping."

"Ok, thank you ambassador. If you'll excuse me?"

Henry nodded as Arizona rushed past him and towards Teddy's bedroom.

"Teddy?" Arizona asked quietly after she slid the door open and walked into her best friend's room. There was a big lump in the bed. "Hey!" she said, poking the lump.

"Unngh," Teddy groaned.

"Theodora Altman Dax, you wake up this instant!" Arizona commanded.

"Ugh, what do you want?" Teddy snapped, still refusing to open her eyes.

"You slept with the Delvian ambassador?" Arizona hissed. On one hand, she was happy for her friend. But on the other hand, she didn't want anything to jeopardize Callie's negotiations with the Delvian delegation, less than 24 hours after they'd arrived.

Teddy's eyes popped open. "I did!" she said excitedly. "I totally did!"

"Yeah, and when I got home this morning, guess who I found in my living room? Naked?" Arizona knew she would probably find this funny later, but right now she was still in shock from seeing a naked blue man.

Teddy sat straight up. "Isn't he hot?"

"Teddy!"

"I mean seriously—isn't he the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?"

"I'm gay!"

"So?"

"So naked men don't really do anything for me."

"Ok, forget about the sexual attraction for a second. Just from an aesthetic perspective—isn't he drop dead gorgeous?!"

Arizona just stood there and shrugged. She'd heard comments from lots of people that the Delvians were beautiful, but she didn't really see it. Sure, they were nice looking. But a naked Callie Torres was a lot more appealing.

"Seriously, Arizona?"

"Sorry Teds, he doesn't do anything for me. And just between you and me, Callie looks a lot better naked than he does."

Teddy's eyes widened and a huge grin adorned her face. _Shit shit shit_, Arizona said to herself. She hadn't meant to tell Teddy she and Callie had finally slept together quite this early.

"You saw Callie naked?"

"Yes," Arizona said as a blush crossed her face and she stared at her shoes.

"You had sex with Callie?"

"Yes," came Arizona's grudging reply.

Arizona heard a delighted squeal come from Teddy and then suddenly, Teddy was out of bed and hugging her enthusiastically.

"Arizona, I'm so happy for you!" Teddy said as she rocked the blonde from side to side.

"Thanks, Teds," Arizona sighed. Arizona had had about all the embarrassment she could take this morning.

"You know what this means, right?" Teddy asked, pulling back to look at Arizona, but not releasing her from the hug.

"What?" Arizona said with an uninterested shrug.

Teddy pulled Arizona back into a super tight hug and started rocking them back and forth again.

"We both got laid last night!"

* * *

"So, Arizona, Calliope tells me you have a brother?" Carlos Torres asked as he handed the salad to his wife.

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded. She paused for a second to swallow. "Timothy. He's a couple years older than me and he's also in Starfleet."

Callie and Arizona were seated at the Torres' dinner table along with the entire Torres clan. They hadn't even gotten to the dinner table before the Erica catastrophe had happened the last time, so in comparison, this family meal was going much better.

"Ah, does he have any children?" Lucia asked. Callie rolled her eyes. She loved her mother, but Lucia's obsession with kids and grandchildren got tiring at times.

"No," Arizona shook her head.

"Is he married?" Lucia inquired.

"No," Arizona shook her head again. "He's very focused on his career."

"Still, he must date?" Lucia said before placing a bit of salad in her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sure he does," Arizona said. Callie smirked. Arizona had told her a couple of days before that Tim was quite the king of the one night stand. To Callie, it sounded like Tim was a lot like Mark. Although Mark wasn't really himself lately—Callie was pretty sure he hadn't slept with anyone but her communications officer in weeks. "He's just," Arizona paused. "I don't think it's very serious with any of the women he dates."

"And you two?" Lucia asked, indicating towards Callie and Arizona. "Are you two serious?"

"Mom!" "Dear…" Callie and Carlos interrupted simultaneously. From the other end of the table, Aria sent Callie a sympathetic smile. Callie had noticed that Aria had been much less nosy since Gavin accidentally mentioned Erica, and Callie was grateful for it.

"What?" Lucia asked, throwing her hands up in defense. "It's a fair question! You've been single long enough, Callie. Don't you think it's time you stop wasting your time and settle down? Have a family?"

"Being the commanding officer of the Federation's largest space station and leading the negotiations with a new alien species is wasting my time?!" Callie asked incredulously. Callie waited for her mother to respond, but before Lucia could open her mouth, Callie felt Arizona's hand squeeze hers and Arizona started to speak.

"It's ok, guys," Arizona started, trying to calm the argument between Lucia and Callie before it got going. "Lucia, Callie's career is really important to her, and I'm very proud of everything she's accomplished. You should be, too."

Callie smirked at her mother. Maybe that would shut her up. But the smirk vanished when she realized Arizona wasn't finished.

"That being said," Arizona continued. "Your daughter means a great deal to me, and I don't think that our careers will be an obstacle to our relationship."

Lucia smiled at Arizona's answer. "So will you two have children?"

"Mom!" Callie groaned. Her mother really didn't know when to quit. Arizona, however, just gave Callie's hand another quick squeeze and faced Lucia.

"We've only really been officially dating for three weeks," Arizona said. "So it's a little early to be talking about that."

"But down the road?" Lucia asked hopefully.

"Down the road?" Arizona thought out loud before turning to face Callie. Callie gave her a tight smile and nod. It _was_ too early to discuss it, but if she had a kid with Arizona and it had Arizona's dimples? Callie could die a happy woman.

"Down the road," Arizona said, turning back to Lucia. "I think that would be a definite possibility."

Lucia beamed, apparently satisfied with Arizona's answer. Callie had to hand it to Arizona—the blonde could handle her mother better than she could.

"So mom, you planning the baby shower already?" Michael asked with a playful smile.

"Oh hush, Michael!" Lucia said. She never did understand why everyone made fun of her for planning family events.

"Arizona?"

Callie watched as the 5-year-old Hailey poked Arizona in the shoulder to get her attention.

"Yeah, honey?" Arizona said, turning to the little girl seated to her left.

"Don't you think my mommy's pretty?"

Callie chuckled and rolled her eyes. Hailey mentioned how beautiful Aria was at least 10 times a day.

"Yes, Hailey, your mother is very pretty," Arizona said, making the little girl smile. "And so are you."

"Do you think Auntie Callie is pretty, too?"

"Oh yes," Arizona confirmed, before turning to look Callie in the eyes. "Your auntie is the prettiest of them all." At that moment, Callie didn't even notice that her entire family was staring adoringly at the couple. She was too distracted by the warmth and truth in Arizona's blue eyes.

* * *

Arizona jerked awake when a noise from Callie's console came blaring into the room. She instantly realized she was cold—she was still naked from their lovemaking and Callie had somehow managed to steal most of the covers.

"Mmm, what?" Callie said out loud, confused.

"Commander Torres, you have a priority one call," the computer repeated.

"Callie," Arizona nudged her girlfriend, trying to wake her up and recover some of the blankets.

"I'm up, I'm up," Callie said groggily, clumsily rolling out of bed and heading for her console. Arizona instantly woke up at the sight of Callie's naked body walking across the room. This woman was perfect.

"Callie?" Arizona said with a hint of urgency before Callie got to the console.

"Hmm?" Callie called, turning around.

"You should probably put some clothes on."

Callie looked down at herself, a blush crossing her face. "Right."

Arizona giggled as Callie returned to the bed and grabbed the silky black robe she'd been wearing the night before.

"Computer, answer," Callie mumbled as she finally sat down at the desk.

Admiral Johnson, the leader of the expeditionary fleet, appeared on-screen. Arizona's eyes widened and she quickly pulled the blankets more tightly around her. She knew that the admiral couldn't see her, but she was still slightly afraid of him after the bar fight incident.

"Sorry to wake you Commander," the admiral said. His demeanor was grave.

"It's alright, admiral," Callie said with an incredibly professional air. "What's the situation?" Arizona waited anxiously for the admiral to reply. It wasn't every day when a full fleet admiral woke you during the middle of the night with a priority one message. And she knew it was probably unprofessional to notice this on such an occasion, but seeing Callie so cool and poised in the middle of the night was incredibly hot. Most people would be nervous to speak to an admiral in any situation, but Callie was calm and confident in her gorgeous black robe and with her hair still messy from several rounds of sex. Her girlfriend was the definition of badass.

"We've encountered a hostile race, Commander."

"Have they engaged you?" Callie asked, appearing more alarmed than Arizona had ever seen her.

"We've already lost the Infinity, and the Saturn was badly damaged."

Arizona's mouth fell open. Those were _Intrepid_-class ships, with well over 100 crew serving aboard each of them. Arizona couldn't remember an _Intrepid_ being completely destroyed even once in her lifetime.

Callie's shoulders sunk. "How many, Admiral?"

Admiral Johnson looked pained. "We weren't able to get some of the Infinity's crew out in time. All told, 37 fatalities, 17 injured."

Callie nodded. "Its captain?"

"We were able to get Captain Aamir out at the very last moment. He refused to be beamed away before his crew."

Callie nodded again and exhaled. "So, what can I do for you, admiral?"

"First thing in the morning, please consult with the Delvian ambassador. Please ask him if they've ever encountered a race called the Scarrans before."

"Yes, sir," Callie nodded. Arizona made a mental note to ask Teddy if she could help. It had been about a week since the Delvian delegation's arrival, and although Teddy and Henry had been inseparable, Arizona had only seen him naked one more time. She had no doubt that Teddy had more influence over him at the moment, despite Callie's excellent diplomatic abilities and the fact that Callie said things were going well.

"I need you to put the _Seattle_ on full alert and make sure SG-502 is secure."

"Of course."

"And prepare for the fleet's arrival. We're about 2 weeks out."

Callie's eyes widened. "You're coming back, sir?"

"The Scarrans pose a serious threat, Commander. We only just breached the outskirts of their territory, but their military presence was formidable. We need to fall back and establish a stronger defensive perimeter."

"They refused to negotiate?" Callie asked. Arizona was wondering the same thing. Unknowingly entering someone's territory was a common occurrence in space exploration, and it usually didn't lead to such a dramatic escalation of hostilities.

"Yes," Admiral Johnson nodded. "They made it clear that they consider us a threat, and they vowed to seek us out and destroy us."

Arizona swallowed hard. The Federation had had its fair share of violence in the past. But even the most violent of species were usually content to leave you alone if you promised to stay out of their territory.

"Admiral," Callie said. Her tone was full of anxiety. "If the outskirts of their territory are only 2 weeks away, won't they be able to send more forces than you've already encountered? Is the fleet enough to defend our borders?"

"Your station is essentially the most powerful weapon ever created, Torres," Admiral Johnson replied.

Arizona cringed. It was true—the _Seattle_ did have an amazing defense system that could cause a great deal of damage. But it pained her to hear it described as a weapon. The _Seattle's_ purpose was peace.

"But I've already contacted Starfleet Command," the admiral continued. "They're sending massive reinforcements."

"But sir, depending on where they are, they're two or three months away," Callie said.

"Yes," the admiral nodded. "That's the best we can do. In the meantime, prepare your station to receive thousands of Starfleet personnel. Command will send you more specific numbers soon."

"Yes sir."

"Well that's all for now Torres," the Admiral said. "I'll see you in 2 weeks."

Callie nodded. "Sir? Godspeed."

The transmission ended and Callie collapsed into her chair. Arizona was out of the bed in an instant, wrapping her body around her girlfriend.

"37 officers, Arizona."

"I know, I know," Arizona murmured, kissing Callie's hair.

"I didn't come out here to fight a war."

"I know."

* * *

"Henry, thank you so much for agreeing to see me thing morning." Callie forced a tight smile as the Delvian ambassador stepped into the small conference room. They'd been taking their time in cultivating a relationship. Callie could certainly get results under a strict deadline if she needed to, but otherwise she preferred to negotiate slowly. It built up more trust.

In the week since Henry's arrival, they'd been getting to know one another's cultures. The Delvians, it turned out, were a deeply religious and contemplative people. They had a very non-violent history, and they dedicated most of their time and efforts to religion, philosophy, writing, music, and theatre. They were (not surprisingly) experts at working with plants, and their plant life bio-engineering was light-years ahead of the Federation's. Callie had learned that their ships weren't blue and green from paint—their ships were actually made partly from a form of bio-engineered plant life.

In return, Henry had gotten to know some of the Federation's culture. He'd been delighted to discover holodeck technology and replicators, he loved the beverages and games at McDreamy's, and he'd taken a liking to several sports. He was a decent Tennis player, though Callie and Arizona had managed to squeeze out a victory over Henry and Teddy. Callie had even invited Teddy and Henry to share a meal with her family and Arizona, and her niece and nephews had enjoyed showing Henry the toys that human children liked to play with.

So having to abruptly ask Henry if the Delvians had ever encountered the Scarrans was seriously cramping Callie's style.

"It's my pleasure, Commander," Henry replied as he reached for a piece of fruit from the spread on the table. "Thank you again for the lovely dinner with your parents and sister's family last night."

"You're more than welcome, Henry," Callie smiled. "I appreciate the friendship we've been shown by your people."

Henry nodded in response as he took a seat at the table. "You said you had something urgent to discuss?"

"Yes," Callie said, glad that Henry had provided her an opening to talk. "Our expeditionary fleet encountered another race of people last night, and my admiral is wondering if you've had any contact with them."

"Well, as you know," Henry started. "We're not really explorers. We mainly let people come to us."

"Yes," Callie nodded. "Still, have you ever had any encounters with the Scarrans?"

"Oh the Scarrans?" Henry said, clearly recognizing the name. "Yes, we see them from time to time."

The answer surprised Callie. From all she'd heard from the admiral, the Scarrans were blindly hostile. "And have your dealings with them been friendly?"

Henry nodded. "We've heard rumors that they are engaged in several wars in other sectors of space, but they've never threatened us in any way."

"How often do you see them?" Callie asked.

"Every couple of years," Henry replied. "We have a trade agreement with them. We have a flower that grows on one of Delvia's moons that they consider to be a delicacy. It's difficult to grow on most of the surrounding worlds, and the Scarrans aren't exactly the most talented botanists, so we trade it to them in exchange for industrial equipment."

"And besides that, they leave you alone?"

"Yes," Henry nodded. "The Scarrans aren't too interested in our culture, and we don't really have anything else that they want. Besides, we're small in population and only occupy a few worlds. I think they largely ignore us."

"Ok," Callie nodded. She sighed. She didn't want to reveal the fact that the Scarrans had attacked the Federation, but she figured that Henry would find out sooner or later. "Ambassador, our expeditionary fleet—the same one that encountered your people—encountered the Scarrans at the outskirts of their territory. The Scarrans attacked without provocation and have declared war on us."

Henry sat back in his chair, his eyes open wide with shock.

"Do you," Callie continued. "Do you have any idea why they might attack us?"

Henry thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "I've only met the Scarran ambassador a few times. He's not friendly by any means, but he honors our trade contracts and then leaves in peace. But your technology is much more advanced than ours. Maybe the Scarrans perceive you to be a threat? The Federation _or_ the Scarrans could wipe out my people without much effort. But from what I've seen, a war between your two peoples will not be decided quickly."

"Ok, thank you Henry," Callie said with a nod as she started to stand from the table. She doubted that she would get much more out of the Delvian ambassador.

"Commander?" Henry said as he stood as well. Callie waited, and he hesitated. He looked less than pleased to say whatever he was about to say. "You've extended a great amount of hospitality towards my people this past week. And though you haven't mentioned it, I can only assume that your long term goal is for my people to join your Federation."

Callie felt herself swallow hard. That _was_ her longterm goal. And she'd been under the impression that she had been making excellent progress towards reaching it.

"Am I correct in my assessment?" Henry asked when Callie didn't reply.

Callie nodded. "The Federation exists to promote galactic-wide peace and exploration. We are happy for all to join."

Henry considered her statement for a moment. "My people have been safe for millennia because we remain neutral. We don't take sides, we don't threaten anyone, and we keep to ourselves."

Callie swallowed hard. She could see where this was going.

"At this time, with war looming between you and the Scarrans, my recommendation to the Delvian Council of Elders will be to reject any invitation to join your Federation. It would not be best for my people."

Callie nodded. She wasn't happy—instead of making peace and bringing new species into the Federation, the expeditionary fleet had made a new enemy and put the Delvians in a tough spot.

"I understand, Ambassador," Callie said. "But the Federation would be able to extend protection to you and your world."

Henry simply shook his head. "Not at this time, Commander."

"Ok," Callie said. It had been worth a shot. "I do hope we will be able to continue to develop our friendship, however."

Henry smiled. "Certainly."

* * *

"I thought you'd be happy I'm part of the reinforcements, Phoenix. Don't you want to see me?"

Arizona sighed in annoyance. "I _do_ want to see you, Tim. I just don't want to see you _here_. I don't want you to come out here to fight a war." She looked up from the view screen and smiled when Callie walked into her quarters. "Hey Tim, I've gotta go," she said, looking back to her brother.

"Wait, wait!" Tim exclaimed. "Is that Callie? I want to meet her!"

Arizona rolled her eyes. Tim had been begging to meet his little sister's girlfriend ever since she'd told him about Callie. She looked over at Callie and raised her eyebrows, silently asking Callie if she wanted to meet Tim. Callie smiled and joined Arizona on the couch. She was greeted with wolf whistles and "ow ow"'s from the man on the screen.

"Tim!" Arizona scolded, but Tim just laughed.

"What?" Tim asked with a shrug. "Your girlfriend's a babe."

"Uh, hi, Tim," Callie said with a quiet laugh. Arizona turned to face her girlfriend, and was relieved to see that Callie looked amused and not offended.

"So has Zona told you about the posters on her bedroom wall yet?"

Arizona instantly felt herself blush. "Timothy Andrew Robbins, you will shut up now or I will end this transmission!"

Callie gave her a sideways glance. "I haven't seen any posters…" she said, clearly confused.

"No, no," Tim continued. "Not in her room on the station."

"Tim…" Arizona warned, her tone serious. She noticed her fists clenching involuntarily. Her brother was really asking for it.

"When Zona was in high school she—"

"Tim!" Arizona shouted in a last-ditch effort to quiet her brother

"—had posters of you in her room."

Arizona sank her shoulders and closed her eyes in defeat. She could not believe this was happening. There it was, out in the open, for Commander Callie Torres to hear. Arizona Robbins was officially a stalker.

Callie, however, didn't seem too creeped out. "Oh yeah? Bit of a Parisses Squares fan, were you?" Her tone was amused and flirtatious.

"Oh, the beach volleyball poster was her favorite," Tim continued. Callie's eyes widened, taking in Tim's full meaning.

"Goodbye, Timothy! I hate you!" Arizona hissed as she pressed a button to end the transmission. She let out a growl of frustration, still staring at where her brother's head had been.

"Babe?" Callie asked. Arizona couldn't bear it look at her.

"Yeah?" she asked sheepishly as she buried her face in her hands.

Callie leaned over and kissed her hair. "It's ok," she murmured.

"You don't think I'm a whacko creeper?" Arizona asked, her voice a little muffled from where it was resting on her hands.

Callie chuckled. "No, you're definitely a creeper. But you're a cute creeper. And you're _my_ creeper."

Arizona finally managed to turn her face towards Callie. Callie looked pleased and not at all weirded out. Callie laughed at the sheepish look on Arizona's face and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her mouth.

"So did teenage you dream of kissing me?"

Arizona leaned back and groaned. She could not believe she was having this conversation. She was going to _kill _her brother.

"Did teenage you dream of making out with me?" Callie asked as she sat down on Arizona's lap, straddling her thighs. Arizona leaned forward to kiss Callie, hoping that her touch could distract her girlfriend away from this thoroughly embarrassing topic. Callie deepened the kiss and started grinding her body against Arizona. Arizona moaned as she felt Callie's tongue flicking against hers. She began to feel a familiar throbbing between her legs.

Callie pulled out of the kiss and started to attack Arizona's neck and jawline. Arizona smiled at the sensation as she moved one of her hands off of Callie's hips and up Callie's shirt, in search of one of her breasts.

Callie giggled as Arizona squeezed her breast gently. "When teenage you thought about teenage me," Callie whispered in her ear huskily. "Did you touch yourself?"

Arizona felt her face turn beat red and her breath catch in her throat. The answer to that question was "yes." Callie had been the star of her fantasies…quite a few times.

When Arizona didn't respond, Callie stopped her assault on Arizona's neck long enough to catch the horrified expression on Arizona's face. Callie's eyes immediately darkened.

"Is Teddy home?" Callie asked.

Arizona shook her head. "She…she's staying at Henry's tonight."

Callie abruptly stood up and offered Arizona her hand. "Come on then."

"Wha—where are we going?" Arizona asked as she placed her hand in Callie's but didn't stand up.

Callie just smirked. "You're going to show me _exactly_ what teenage Arizona did when she thought of teenage Callie."

Arizona's eyes widened and she gulped, not knowing how to respond.

Callie, on the other hand, just laughed wickedly and dragged her into the bedroom.

Yeah, Arizona was definitely going to kill her brother.

* * *

**AN: I also borrowed the Scarrans from Farscape. Google "emperor staleek" if you want to see what they look like. (By the way, if you want to see what Delvians look like, google "zhaan"). I know that Nick was the person who called Arizona by names of cities in Arizona, not Tim. But I don't care. Tim is going to call her city names, Zo, Zona, etc. Next chapter is going to jump ahead a few months. And for those who asked about Erica—my lips are sealed, but I think you'll be happy ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Quick, short update. I just uploaded chapter 13 yesterday, so make sure you've read that first.**

* * *

"Mmm," Arizona moaned her approval as Callie fed her another chocolate covered strawberry. Callie watched, mesmerized, as the blonde savored the treat. A small droplet of chocolate remained on her lips, and Callie couldn't resist leaning forward to lick her lips clean.

"Oh, was I messy?" Arizona giggled as she reached up to wipe her mouth off.

"Na," Callie smiled. "I took care of it."

Arizona smiled as she leaned back into her pillow and turned her face to watch the roaring fire. Callie continued to prop her head up with one arm, and she smiled sleepily as she studied Arizona's perfect skin.

It had been a fairly quiet day aboard the _Seattle_, so Callie and Arizona had left Command early. Callie had grabbed all of the bedding off of her bed and set up a makeshift bed in her living room next to the fireplace, and she had Arizona had been making love, feeding each other fruit and chocolate, and enjoying a bottle of French wine all evening long. It had proven to be a nice escape from the tension that was palpable all over the station.

Nearly three months had passed since the expeditionary fleet had made first contact with the Scarran Empire. The bulk of the fleet had fallen back to defend the _Seattle_ and the few other outposts that the Federation had in the sector. Thankfully, all of the bases in the area had engines and could be moved, so the Federation's citizens and assets were all in a very defensible position.

The Scarran advance on Federation territory had been slow, but steady. Admiral Johnson had been worried at first that Scarran reinforcements would arrive faster than Federation forces could arrive from Earth. However, the number of Scarran ships in the area had not increased, so it appeared that the Scarrans were just as far away from home as were Callie and her crew. Still, with each passing day came a higher chance that the Scarran fleets would arrive. Admiral Johnson and Callie were very anxious for the Federation reinforcements. Johnson and the expeditionary fleet had been on the defensive in all battles thus far, but Callie knew that the sooner they could go on the offensive, the better.

A general sense of anxiety had settled upon the Station. Callie and her officers had done their best to ease the minds of the civilians on board and the colonists on the planet below, but just the presence of the officers from the expeditionary fleet made everyone on edge. She knew it would only get worse when the thousands of reinforcements arrived from home. The population of the _Seattle_ was about to explode.

Callie sighed as she rested her head on her pillow and snuggled up more closely to Arizona's naked body. Holding Arizona, breathing in her scent—the blonde never failed to make Callie's stress dematerialize. She buried her face into Arizona's neck and began to place soft kisses on Arizona's skin.

"Mmm, you're so warm," Callie giggled. "We should have sex by the fireplace more often."

"You won't hear me argue with that," came Arizona's soft reply.

Arizona looked calm, relaxed, and contemplative. Callie couldn't help but wonder what the blonde was thinking about. Even though the last few months had been challenging, Callie and Arizona's relationship had flourished. Arizona's role as tactical officer had increased in importance since the outbreak of the war, so Callie had the pleasure of working with Arizona all day, enjoying her company all evening, and then holding her all night. And Callie was extremely happy. She'd never felt so happy in her life.

The only thing bothering her at present was that she and Arizona still hadn't verbally expressed their love for one another. Sure, Arizona showed Callie how much she cared about her by worshipping her body each night, listening carefully to whatever Callie wanted to talk about, and supporting her through daily challenges. Callie showed her affection in much the same way. But those three little words—"I love you"—were still absent.

Those three words were on the tip of Callie's tongue. They were blaring loudly in her mind, and she had to stop herself from saying them numerous times a day. She wanted to say them so desperately, but for some reason, she couldn't find the courage. Callie was afraid of being vulnerable. Afraid of being rejected, abandoned. She wanted to trust Arizona completely—deep down she knew that Arizona wasn't Erica. She knew that Arizona was loyal, noble, and true. She knew that Arizona would never take advantage of her. But still, despite that knowledge, she was afraid. She needed Arizona to say it first, to bear the risk. So why didn't Arizona say anything? Were Callie's feelings stronger than the blonde's? Did Arizona not care about their relationship?

Callie knew, of course, that she was being ridiculous. Arizona had displayed her affection and commitment too many times for them to be called into question. But still, Callie wondered. She hadn't been good enough for Erica to love her. Was she not enough for Arizona?

"What are you thinking about back there?"

Arizona's quiet voice interrupted Callie's insecure musings.

"Hmm? Nothing," Callie murmured. She snuggled Arizona a little tighter. "You smell really nice."

Arizona smiled and chuckled at Callie's answer. She turned over far enough to place a quick peck on the tip of Callie's nose before turning back towards the fire and settling back into Callie's body.

"This is really nice, Calliope. Thank you."

* * *

"Robbins, can I see you in my office for a second?"

Arizona's head popped up when she heard Callie call her name. She really didn't know why Callie kept calling her by her last name in Command. Practically the entire crew knew about their relationship by now.

"Absolutely, ma'am," Arizona smiled as she stepped down from her station and followed Callie into the Commander's office.

"Have a seat," Callie gestured as she sat behind the desk.

"What's up?" Arizona asked politely.

"As you know, the fleet from Earth is supposed to arrive sometime tomorrow."

"Yes?" Arizona replied, a little confused. Callie was being a little more formal than usual.

Callie hesitated for a moment. "I think it would be less confusing for everyone if you were First Officer when they arrived."

Arizona's mind blanked. By her calculation, she still had about two months left of her probation. "But…" she trailed off, not sure what to say.

"I know, I know," Callie said, holding up a hand. "I said six months. But that was when things were quiet. Our station population is going to more than double, and, quite frankly, I need you. Plus, while you've done an admirable job as tactical officer, Burke is…"

"Better at it than I am," Arizona supplied, filling in for Callie so she didn't have to say it. Besides, it was true. She had next to no experience as a tactical officer.

"I was going to say 'better suited to the job,' but yes," Callie confirmed with an apologetic smile. "You and he have different strengths."

"If you shorten my punishment, won't that raise some eyebrows with Starfleet Command?" Arizona asked. Internally, she was feeling quite excited—she would love to have her job back. There would be much less explaining to Tim when he arrived. She hadn't…quite gotten around to telling her family about the bar fight yet.

"Well…" Callie looked a little sheepish.

"Well what?"

"Ineveractuallydidit," Callie mumbled.

"Can you try that again?"

"I never actually did it," Callie said with a huff. "As far as any official records are concerned, you're a Lt. Commander, you're still my first officer, and Karev was never confined to quarters."

Arizona sat back in her chair. "So…" she started out slowly, trying to get a handle on the situation. "When you said you'd take it out of my permanent record after six months, you meant that it was never going to be in my permanent record at all?"

"Even if these things get erased, they don't get forgotten," Callie said. "_Someone_ out there would have remembered it, and I didn't want to jeopardize your career."

Arizona felt flattered that Callie cared, but she also felt guilty. And angry. She was an upstanding Starfleet officer. She didn't want favors because she had a personal relationship with her commanding officer.

"I never asked you to do that," Arizona snapped, unable to restrain the harshness in her tone.

Callie was taken aback at the shift in Arizona's demeanor. "I, I…" Callie stuttered. "Wha—why are you angry?"

"Because if I go back out there as a Lt. Commander and first officer, they're all gonna think it's because I slept with my boss!"

"Arizona," Callie held up her hands defensively. "It's not that at all!"

"And they'd be right!" Arizona continued, ignoring Callie's protests. "Holy shit. I used to look down on people who spread their legs to get ahead, and now _I'm one of them_."

"Arizona," Callie tried again.

"No, no, it's fine," Arizona continued. "I get it now. You piss off Commander Torres? No worries. Just get on your knees and give her a good, nice lick. Problem solved."

"That is ENOUGH!" Callie said in a loud, commanding voice. Arizona snapped back to attention. She'd crossed a line, and Callie had gone into full commanding officer mode. "You may be my girlfriend, Arizona, but I am still your commanding officer, and you will _not_ forget that." Callie's tone of voice and facial expression both said "Don't mess with me" loud and clear.

"Yes, ma'am," Arizona nodded tightly and stared at her boots. Callie leaned back in her chair and let out a frustrated growl.

"As of now, I am reinstating your job as first officer and your rank of Lt. Commander. You wanna be pissed at me? Fine. But you'll do your job and you'll follow my orders. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now get the hell out of my office."

Arizona nodded and swallowed. She didn't bother to look at Callie as she quickly rose from her chair and left the room.

* * *

Commander Callie Torres was standing outside one of the _Seattle_'s docking bays. Her dress uniform was pressed, her hair was perfect, and she was super, super pissed. After Arizona had reacted so strongly to her reinstated rank, the blonde had refused to look at or speak to Callie for the remainder of the day. Then when Callie had gone over to Arizona's quarters later that evening, she'd been denied entrance. Arizona had given her access permissions months ago, but apparently they'd been revoked. So Callie had slept alone. And she was pissed about that. The two women hadn't spent a night apart from each other since that very first night Arizona had invited her to sleep next to her.

Callie turned to her left when she heard a throat clearing. Arizona, also clad in her dress uniform, approached her and stood at her side.

"Commander," Arizona said icily.

"Lt. Commander," Callie replied back in form. Callie sighed in frustration. This was ridiculous. Why couldn't Arizona just accept a damn favor? Callie hadn't reinstated her rank because she was her girlfriend—she'd done it because Arizona was a good officer and Callie needed her as first officer. She would have done it for any good officer in Arizona's position. But instead of a smile and "thank you," Callie had gotten her head bitten off and had been forced to sleep alone. _Women_.

"I trust you slept well, Commander?" Arizona asked in the most detached voice possible. Callie thought she could give Yang a run for her money.

"No, actually, I slept miserably," Callie replied. "My girlfriend is being an A-class bitch and I had to sleep alone last night."

"Sorry to hear that, Commander." Arizona replied, her voice still careless and uninterested.

_Oh, the hell with it_, Callie said to herself. "Arizona," she said, turning towards the blonde. "This is ridiculous. Will you just get off your freaking high horse already?"

Arizona's jaw clenched. "Do you really want to discuss this in a hallway, Commander?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"When else are we gonna discuss it?" Callie replied, trying to keep her voice down. Arizona had a point—they didn't really need anyone else to hear this.

Arizona sighed. "What would you like to discuss, Commander?"

Callie rolled her eyes. If Arizona called her "Commander" one more time, she was going to punch the wall. "Well for starters," Callie said, "We could talk about how much of a brat you're being."

Arizona opened her mouth to reply—no doubt with some sassy comeback—but before she could, the panel next to the door indicated that the shuttle had docked and atmosphere had been restored. Callie sent Arizona one last annoyed glance before entering the shuttle bay. Their ridiculous argument could wait.

Callie and Arizona stepped into the docking bay and stood at attention. Admiral Larry Jennings, the commander-in-chief of Starfleet, was about to disembark from his shuttle. The first portion of the Federation's fleet had arrived at the _Seattle_ about a half an hour ago, with many more ships due to arrive in the next several hours. The space outside the station was already filled with more ships than Callie had ever seen at once. The sight filled her with both awe and dread at the same time. A full-scale war was coming.

The shuttle doors opened and Admiral Jennings stepped out. Callie had met him on occasion, and she generally found him to be an annoying and disagreeable man. But he knew how to fight a war, and for that reason, she was happy he was here.

"Welcome aboard the _Seattle_, Admiral. It's an honor to have you here," she said as she shook his hand.

"Thank you, Commander Torres. I'm excited to finally see this monstrosity we built, though I wish it was under happier circumstances."

Callie gave him a sad smile. "Yes, sir." She turned towards Arizona. "I'd like to introduce Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins, my first officer."

"Robbins," he smiled as he shook Arizona's hand. "I know both your father and your brother. Good men."

"Yes they are, sir. Thank you," Arizona responded with a polite nod.

Jennings turned his head around to look back at the shuttle. "Ah, there you are," he called to a person who was just stepping off. Callie turned to see who he was addressing and her blood turned cold. Her mouth went dry, her knees felt like they were buckling, and she suddenly lost the ability to breathe, swallow, or think.

"This is my first officer, Commander Erica Hahn," Jennings said as the blonde woman joined the group.

Callie didn't hear him say that, though. The only sounds she could hear were that of Arizona's quiet gasp and that of her own heart pounding like a stampede.

_Erica._

* * *

**AN: Dun Dun Dunnnnn!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Guys, I am LOVING your reaction to the last chapter. I actually just sat down as soon as I posted it and started working on this chapter. So I hope you like this one too :) (And I did just post a chapter a few hours ago, and another one yesterday, so please make sure you're reading them in order!)**

* * *

"This is my first officer, Commander Erica Hahn," said Admiral Jennings. Arizona let out a small gasp of shock. Her pulse began to race instantaneously and she felt her jaw clench and her hands tighten into fists on instinct.

Arizona turned to look at Callie. Callie's complexion had paled significantly, and she looked stricken. Arizona's usually unflappable commanding officer looked like she was having trouble just standing up straight.

"Commander Torres," came a gravelly voice as Erica Hahn extended a hand to Callie. Callie managed to lift her hand, and she shook Erica's numbly. Arizona struggled to keep her breathing normal and even. She did not want _that woman_ touching Callie in any capacity—not even a handshake. Callie Torres belonged to _her_, and Erica Hahn would be smart to keep her distance.

"Lt. Commander Robbins," Erica turned towards Arizona once she had finished shaking Callie's hand. Arizona couldn't get a read on this woman—Erica's face was like an impenetrable shield. She looked down at Erica's proffered hand. What Arizona really wanted to do was spit on it. Or better yet, grab it and use the element of surprise to haul Erica to the floor and kick her in the ribs. But somehow, Arizona found herself shaking Erica's hand and giving her a polite smile.

"Welcome aboard, Commander Hahn," she heard her voice saying. It sounded strange to her ears—she wasn't aware of her brain commanding her lips to move and her vocal chords to engage.

"Commander Torres, are you alright?" Admiral Jennings asked. Apparently he'd noticed Callie's shaken demeanor.

Callie cleared her throat and shook her head a few times, apparently snapping herself back into the present. "I'm fine sir," Callie smiled. Arizona watched as Callie's cool and calm commanding officer persona finally appeared. It was like she was staring at an entirely new person. She didn't know how Callie managed to do that. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your office suite."

Jennings simply nodded and allowed Callie to lead the way. Arizona tried in vain to catch Callie's eyes—she was dying for Callie to look at her, to give her some sign that things were okay. However, it seemed as though Callie was almost deliberately not looking at her. Suddenly Arizona was feeling very foolish about the argument they'd been having.

_This cannot be happening_, Arizona thought as the four Starfleet officers exited the docking bay, Callie and Jennings in front, Arizona and Erica in the rear. Arizona chanced a glance to the woman she was walking next to. Erica Hahn, oblivious to Arizona's gaze, was staring lecherously at Callie. Arizona felt her blood begin to boil. _Listen up, bitch,_ Arizona said to Erica in her head. _I don't know what your angle is here, but if you so much as sneeze in Callie's general direction, you'll find yourself being thrown out an airlock before you know what hit you._

The foursome continued to walk towards the exit of the docking level, when Callie suddenly called out to a passing crewman.

"Yes ma'am?" the crewman snapped to attention.

"Could you please escort Admiral Jennings and Commander Hahn to the Admiral's suite on the Command level?"

"Of course ma'am," the crewman nodded.

Callie turned towards Jennings. "Please excuse me, Admiral, but I just remembered that there is something my first officer and I need to attend to. It'll just take a moment, and we'll join you in Command shortly."

"Of course," Jennings nodded. To Arizona, he seemed a little annoyed. He was the highest ranking officer in Starfleet, and probably wasn't used to being escorted _anywhere_ by a crewman.

With that, Admiral Jennings and Erica began to follow the crewman towards the Promenade. Arizona stood still, watching Callie as Callie watched the departing officers. As soon as they had turned a corner, Callie turned around and grabbed Arizona roughly by her arm.

"Wha-what? Callie!" Arizona exclaimed as she found herself being dragged into a cargo bay. Callie practically threw her in the room, and she looked up to see several embarrassed and confused looking dock workers.

"Everybody out!" Callie yelled. The dock workers, who had probably never even seen Commander Torres before, didn't need to be told twice. They all rushed towards the door and Callie just stared at her shoes until they'd all filed out.

Before the door had even completely closed, Arizona found herself being practically crushed by her suddenly sobbing girlfriend.

"Oh, Callie," Arizona murmured as she clumsily navigated them to a nearby bench. "Hey, hey, shh," Arizona coaxed as she stroked Callie's hair. "It's okay, it's okay."

Callie seemed to get a hold of herself after a moment, and she leaned back out of Arizona's embrace and quickly wiped tears out of her eyes. "Sorry about that," Callie mumbled.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Arizona said authoritatively, hoping Callie would believe her. Her girlfriend nodded.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Arizona rubbing her hand in nonsensical patterns on Callie's back. Callie sat with her face resting in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. Arizona's head felt like it was about to explode. She was having a million thoughts at once. Erica was on the station. How did Callie feel about that? Did Callie want to go back to Erica? Was she going to leave Arizona? Would Callie forgive her for being so immature about her reinstatement?

When Arizona couldn't take the silence anymore, she hesitantly opened her mouth to speak. "Callie?" her voice was small. "Calliope, are you…are you going to leave me?" She dreaded Callie's response, but she had to know.

Callie's head snapped up, her big brown eyes full of shock.

"Wha—why would you ask that?" Callie said, looking horrified.

"I, I just…" Arizona stuttered.

"No!" Callie said emphatically. "Arizona, no! Why would you even think that?"

Arizona shrugged lamely. "Well with Erica being back, and our fight yesterday, I thought maybe…"

"You're an idiot," Callie said matter-of-factly. "Arizona, I lo—" Callie stopped short, her eyes wide.

Arizona grabbed Callie's hand. She knew what Callie had been about to say. She'd sensed it on the tip of her girlfriend's tongue for weeks, and she'd been patiently waiting for her to feel comfortable enough to say it. Arizona normally would have just said it first, but Callie was her commanding officer. There was an unusual power imbalance in their relationship. Arizona was used to sharing leadership in her relationships, but in this one, Callie was the undisputed leader. Callie had asked her out. Callie had asked her to be her girlfriend. Callie was the initiator of most of their dates, of most of their sexual encounters. So Arizona had naturally assumed Callie would be the first to express her love verbally. But now, Arizona was beginning to sense that Callie wanted—no, _needed_—Arizona to say it first.

"Callie," Arizona started, her voice filled with new understanding of her girlfriend.

"Arizona," Callie swallowed. "I need you to tell me how you feel about me."

Arizona internally scolded herself. She prided herself on protecting Callie, on taking care of Callie. And here Callie was, practically begging Arizona to tell her she loved her. Arizona had failed at her most basic task—giving her woman what she needed most.

"Callie, you are the most amazing woman I've ever met. I'm constantly in awe of everything you do. Your grace and poise—you are absolutely everything I've ever wanted to be as a Starfleet officer."

"No, no," Callie said, on the verge of tears. "I need you to tell me about how you feel about _me_, as a woman. As your girlfriend." Callie's eyes were fearful and pleading.

Arizona gave her a sad smirk. _I'm getting there, Callie!_ Arizona stood from the bench and knelt down in front of Callie, taking both of Callie's hands in hers. Arizona would have liked to plan a romantic dinner, a fabulous date where she could romance Callie and then tell her she loved her. But if Callie needed to be told right now, in the middle of a cargo bay, when the woman who'd abandoned her was somewhere on the station, then Arizona could do that too.

Arizona took a deep breath and looked lovingly into Callie's eyes.

"I love you, Calliope Torres. _So, so much_. And I'm _in_ love with you. You're the love of my life," Arizona said with an earnest smile. "You always have been. And you always will be." Arizona knew that the timing was a little bit forced, but the words weren't forced at all. She meant each and every one of them. Callie was it for her. Callie was her great love story.

Callie let out a small sob and joined Arizona on the floor, pulling the blonde into a bone-crushing hug. "I love you too, Arizona. I love you so much."

Arizona smiled as she continued to hold Callie. Despite her insecurities, deep down she'd known that Callie loved her. But it still filled her with joy to hear those words spoken out loud. Callie sniffled as she slowly pulled back far enough so that Arizona could see her face.

"Say it again?" Callie asked timidly.

Arizona giggled lightly. "I love you, Callie."

Callie smiled as she tried to catch her breath. She was clearly struggling to keep her emotions under control. But her face shone with more happiness than Arizona had ever seen. Arizona smiled as Callie leaned in, placing the gentlest of kisses on Arizona's mouth. It was a chaste kiss-no tongue and hardly any moisture to speak of-but somehow it was the most meaningful kiss Arizona had ever experienced. It was if the two women were sealing their love for one another. She lifted a hand to caress Callie's cheek, and Callie responded by placing her own hand on top of Arizona's.

They broke apart after a few moments and rested their heads on each other's foreheads, their eyes still closed. There was a war going on outside-both with the Scarrans and with whatever was about to happen with Erica. But in the cargo bay, sitting on the floor, they were safe.

"Callie?" Arizona asked quietly after a few minutes. It was nice to just sit with each other, soaking in one another's presence. But they did have an admiral waiting for them.

"Hmm?" Callie mumbled, not lifting her head from where it was resting on Arizona's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, we should probably get up there."

"I don't wanna," came Callie's almost childlike answer. Arizona had seen 5-year-old Hailey say the exact same thing in the exact same manner.

"I know, neither do I," Arizona replied. "If you want, we could just promote Burke to Commander and you and I could sit here in the cargo bay for a few months."

Arizona looked down and smiled as Callie's shoulders shook from laughter. After a few seconds, Callie finally let out a groan and stood up. She reached out a hand to help Arizona up, which Arizona gladly accepted.

"So..." Arizona said as the two women straightened out their uniforms and fixed each other's hair. "What do you want me to do about...you know?"

Callie sighed and shook her head. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

Commander Callie Torres was having one of the most tiring, horrible, yet wonderful days she'd ever had. She'd woken up cranky because Arizona Robbins was a complete bitch. Then Erica Hahn, the woman who'd essentially left her at the altar after a nine-year relationship, had shown out of nowhere. And finally...Arizona Robbins, the woman that she was madly, head-over-heels in love with, had told her that she loved her. It was just all too much for one day. Callie's head was spinning.

"I'm sorry, by the way," Arizona's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Huh?" Callie looked over at Arizona, who was standing beside her in the turbolift.

"About earlier. Yesterday. I...I overreacted. And I shouldn't have said those things. I know that you'd never abuse your power as a commanding officer in exchange for sexual favors."

"Arizona," Callie shook her head as she reached for the blonde's hand. "Sweetheart, it's forgotten."

"No, I was completely out of line," Arizona protested.

"You were," Callie nodded firmly. "But it's still forgotten."

Arizona looked at her, and Callie could see gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Callie nodded and faced toward the front of the turbolift again. There was a reason Starfleet discouraged relationships between commanding officers and their subordinates. Familiarity off-duty could often lead to inappropriate interactions on-duty. Callie and Arizona had done fairly well at navigating their relationship thus far, but a few hiccups were to be expected. Callie knew it probably wasn't easy to date your commanding officer. Arizona had been severely disrespectful of Callie's authority, but the guilt in Arizona's eyes showed that Arizona knew that. But given the...Erica situation...Callie was eager to just forget about it and move on. Callie knew she shared some of the responsibility-Arizona probably felt some confusion about when she was Callie's officer and when she was Callie's girlfriend, and that was partially Callie's fault.

Callie felt the turbolift slow and she dropped Arizona's hand. She gave Arizona a small smile. They both knew they couldn't walk into Command holding each other's hand. "I love you," she whispered to Arizona.

"I love you too," Arizona whispered back.

"Command," spoke the computer as the turbolift came to a complete halt and the door slid open. Callie strode out first, with Arizona falling in behind her. She really didn't know how she was going to react to seeing Erica again, but there wasn't anything she could do to prepare herself. She just had to walk in and see how it went.

"Sorry for the delay, Admiral," Callie said confidently as she entered Command. Admiral Jennings and Erica were currently standing near the observation window and chatting with Preston Burke. "I hope you didn't mind the wait."

"Not at all, Commander," Jennings replied. "Lt. Commander Burke here gave me a tour of your office, the Command Center, and my office suite. Quite an impressive setup you've got here."

"Thank you, sir," Callie smiled. She really was proud of her station, and she welcomed the admiral's praise. She found that she had no problem talking to the admiral, so long as she didn't look at Erica.

"So is Admiral Johnson here?" Jennings asked.

"He's out on a patrol at the moment sir, but he should be back within the hour. I know he's anxious to greet you."

Jennings nodded. "In that case, I think I'll retire to my quarters for a bit."

"Of course sir," Callie nodded. "Ensign Grey?" Callie called, turning to face Lexie. "Would you please show the admiral to his quarters?"

Lexie looked a bit miffed that she, a senior officer, was playing hostess, but she did as she was told.

"Commander Torres?" came a voice from the observation window, as soon as the admiral was gone. "I was hoping to have a word with you in your office."

Callie didn't need to turn towards the window to know whose voice that was. It was the voice she'd heard every day for nine years. It was a voice that still, from time to time, kept her awake at night. Callie took a deep breath, made eye contact with Arizona for a second, and then turned to look at Erica.

It was the first time she'd really _looked_ at Erica since she'd arrived on the station. It had been over six years since she'd last seen her, but she looked much the same. Maybe a little older, but that was to be expected. Her demeanor was the same frosty cold one that it had always been, and Callie felt a spark run through her body when she finally looked into those icy blue eyes. _Erica_. Her entire body was tingling.

"Of course," Callie said calmly, impressed that her reply hadn't been stuttered or squeaked. She gestured towards the entrance to her office. "Lt. Commander Robbins," she said, turning to Arizona. "Would you join us, please?"

"Actually-" Erica spoke before Arizona could respond. "I was hoping for a private conversation. Commander to Commander."

Callie swallowed hard. There was no real way she could refuse Erica's request without it being rude or inappropriate in front of the crew.

"Of, of course, Commander Hahn," Callie responded. She waited until Erica was entering her office before she shot Arizona an apologetic look. Then she reluctantly turned her back towards Arizona and followed Erica into her office. She couldn't believe this was happening, and she had no idea what to expect.

* * *

Arizona stood in the middle of the Command center, watching as her girlfriend disappeared into her office. The office which contained her girlfriend's ex-fiancée. Arizona again felt her jaw clench and her hands curl into fists. She was _not_ okay with this. She slowly watched through the office window as Erica stood in front of Callie's desk while Callie removed two drinks from the replicator and offered one to Erica. Erica accepted the drink, and then turned towards the window and pressed a button on the wall. Arizona's eyes bulged out of her head as the privacy shade engaged. Callie and Erica were in Callie's office _alone_, and Arizona had no idea what was going on.

Arizona slowly rounded the desk of the first officer's station and sat down. _Breathe in, breathe out_, she coached herself. She chanced a quick look around Command-no one else seemed to notice that anything out of the ordinary was happening, and for that, Arizona was grateful. So Arizona just sat at her station and fidgeted. Each second, she waged a war within herself. Each second, she had to grip her desk to physically restrain herself from marching into Callie's office and giving Erica a piece of her mind.

* * *

"Thank you, Callie," Erica said as she accepted the tea. As Callie rounded the desk to sit down, Erica reached over to the wall and engaged the privacy shade. Callie's mouth dropped open-Arizona would go insane with that shade down. But she didn't want to show weakness to Erica, so she acted like she hadn't noticed or didn't mind.

"You're welcome," Callie said evenly. She had no idea what to say to this woman. What do you say when the person who abandoned you shows up out of nowhere and acts like nothing happened?

"So..." Erica said, looking around the office. "Commanding officer of the _Seattle_. You've done well for yourself." When Callie just sat there, Erica added, "I always knew you would."

Callie just leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her tea, while Erica shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"So uh..." Erica tried again. "How've you been?"

Callie just stared at her. _How've you been? That's seriously all you say?_ She couldn't believe the audacity that Erica had to just waltz into her office and ask her how she'd been.

When Callie scoffed at how ridiculous this situation was, Erica looked down, but not before Callie saw a flash of guilt in her ex-fiancée's eyes. Callie continued to sit in her chair, staring at Erica. The longer she looked at her, the more Callie realized how run down Erica looked, how tired she appeared. Callie hated herself for feeling sorry for Erica, but she did. She knew that she should be furious with Erica-she should hate Erica. But she didn't. Her parents and sister had always told her that she had a big heart. That she loved too quickly and deeply, and that she forgave too easily. Usually, Callie thought it was mostly a good thing. But when it came to Erica, she hated that quality. Why couldn't she just hate this woman?

After a few moments, Erica looked up again and leaned closer to the table. Before Callie knew what was happening, Erica had reached out her hand and it was resting on Callie's. Callie wanted to recoil from the touch. But she didn't. She was ashamed of how good it felt. How familiar. She was ashamed that after all this time, after Erica had abandoned her, and after all Callie had gone through, some small part of her craved Erica's affection. Callie had learned to be independent, to have confidence in herself. She'd learned to love again, to trust again.

And Arizona Robbins—the most amazing woman she'd ever met—was in love with her. Callie's heart warmed at the thought of it. Arizona had told her she was the love of her life. Callie had heard those words before—she'd heard them from the woman currently sitting across from her. But coming from Arizona, she knew they were true. Arizona could be hot-headed and petty. She could be a bitch and overreact and not give Callie the respect she deserved as a commanding officer. But Arizona Robbins was noble. She was _good_. She was loyal, and honest, and true. Callie knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Arizona would sacrifice everything and anything to protect the things she loved. And she loved Callie. Arizona had just confessed her love a few minutes prior, but Callie knew that she and Arizona were endgame. They were it. Callie had found her partner in life.

But somehow, Erica still had power over her. She still had a need inside of her to please Erica, to be accepted by Erica. Callie had never hated herself more than at this moment.

"Erica," Callie said, finally having the strength to pull her hand out of Erica's grasp. "Why are you here?"

"I'm Admiral Jennings' first officer," Erica said slyly.

Callie rolled her eyes. That was not going to cut it.

Erica sighed and looked down again. "I was wrong, Callie. I-I thought it would be best for both of us if I left. But I was wrong. I've regretted my decision from the moment I made it."

Callie sat back in her chair, wide-eyed. She couldn't believe her ears. In all of her emotional turmoil when Erica had left, she'd always assumed that Erica didn't care. That Erica hadn't loved her.

Erica looked back up at Callie. "I've come back for you, Cal. I love you. I still want to marry you."

It was then that Callie noticed that Erica was still wearing the diamond engagement ring she'd given her. The same one she'd given her over eight years ago.

Callie heard her heart pounding in her ears again. She was Commander Callie Torres, the pride of the Federation, and she had no idea what to do.

* * *

**AN: Sorry if I resolved that a little too quickly for some of you. I can't stand it if Callie and Arizona are feeling****_ deeply_**** insecure about ****_each other_****. So I needed, for my own sanity, to fix them this chapter, but dealing with Erica will be on-going. I prefer to see them fighting their challenges as a team, instead of having them fight their challenges separately and not knowing where the other one stands. Don't worry though-you'll still see each of them be insecure about certain things through this Erica process and their relationship will continue to grow and be stronger because of it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews! I'm glad to see so many people passionate about this particular storyline! Anyways, this was supposed to be two chapters, but I didn't feel like leaving you guys hanging...again, so you get a chapter that's twice as long. I hope it lives up to expectation.**

* * *

"Well," Counselor Owen Hunt said. "You've certainly given me a lot to think about." Owen was seated in a comfortable armchair in his counseling office. He'd been sitting there for the past hour as a flustered and panicked Commander Callie Torres had been pacing back and forth and spilling her life story.

Callie barely recalled how she'd gotten there. Her day had already been completely insane, and then Erica Hahn—_Erica Freaking Hahn_—had sat in her office and told her that she was still in love with her. Callie had sat, stunned for a few moments, before she'd abruptly stood up and stormed out of her office, Erica close on her heals and calling out her name.

Callie had marched right up to a bewildered Arizona Robbins, placed both of her hands on Arizona's cheeks, and kissed her square on the mouth. In front of Erica, in front of Burke and the Greys, in front of everyone in Command. Arizona had been stunned for a moment, but had recovered quickly enough and had kissed Callie back. Hard. Callie had eventually pulled away, and Arizona's eyes had slowly fluttered open. Callie had seen Arizona's eyes glance over at Erica for a second, but then her baby blues had returned to Callie.

"Run the station for me?" Callie had asked her first officer quietly. Arizona had just nodded, clearly confused but ready to do her job. "I'll see you later," Callie had murmured before placing a quick kiss to Arizona's temple. Then she'd made a beeline for the turbolift and headed to the counselor's office, never looking back.

"Counselor Hunt!" she'd exclaimed as she'd barged into his office. Both Hunt and Ensign George O'Malley, who had been in a session with the counselor, had looked at her, startled. "You," she'd said, pointing to O'Malley. "Out!"

"Commander!" Owen had objected. "This is highly innaprop—"

"You're not suicidal, are you?" she'd asked O'Malley, ignoring Owen's protests. The ensign had shaken his head.

"Then get out," she'd said, pointing at the door. O'Malley had jumped off the couch and run out of the office. Callie had then taken a seat on the couch and looked at Owen expectantly.

"Wha—what is going on?" he'd asked her incredulously.

Callie had clasped her hands together and leaned forward. "I need counseling. _Now_."

So here Callie found herself, sitting on Owen Hunt's counseling couch. Over the past hour, she'd told him about her relationship with Erica in detail. She'd told him about her relationship with Arizona, again, in detail. She'd filled him in on the events of the day. How she and Arizona had finally told each other they loved one another, how Callie was absolutely certain that Arizona was the one for her, and how she was so ashamed and confused about her feelings for Erica.

"So," Callie asked expectantly. "What's wrong with me?"

Owen chuckled a little bit. "Besides being human? Not a lot."

Callie's shoulders sank. She wanted there to be something wrong with her. She wanted to have a condition. She wanted Owen to prescribe some drug she could take to make her craving for Erica's approval disappear.

"Commander," Owen sighed. "It's a little premature for me to make a conclusion at this stage, but it sounds to me as though your relationship with Erica was leaning towards codependency."

Callie leaned forward, waiting for Owen to continue.

"Now, it sounds like you've already done a good amount of recovery on your own. When Erica left, you did a good job of putting yourself back together, but you never fully healed. You never got the closure you needed to finally put things to rest."

"What…what does that mean?" Callie asked. "I have a condition? I'm codependent?"

"No, no," Owen said, holding a hand up. "Codependency is a psychological condition, and you don't exhibit nearly enough of the characteristics of a truly codependent person."

"So what are you saying then?"

"I'm saying that you were involved in an incredibly unhealthy relationship for nine years, and the reaction you're having to Erica suddenly appearing in your life again is…_normal_. You're confused because you never got answers or a clear break."

Callie leaned back and sighed. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted Owen to just…fix her.

"Ok," Owen sat forward, apparently sensing Callie's frustration. "I'm going to describe my understanding of your relationship with Erica, from what I gathered from your description of it. It's going to take several sessions before I'm confident about this though, so this is just a rough sketch."

Callie nodded, encouraging Owen to continue.

"You were in a relationship for nine years in which you were powerless. Erica had all the control, all the power. She made the decisions, and you followed her lead. And you were pretty happy about that. You thought it worked well for the two of you. There was—there is—something about Erica that draws you to her. You enjoyed being her girlfriend—you enjoyed being associated with her. You enjoyed being known as hers."

Callie sat still in her seat on the couch. She didn't know how Owen could understand things this well after her disjointed rant, but so far he was hitting it on the head.

"Eventually, you stopped caring about what _you_ wanted and focused more on what Erica wanted. You tried to mold yourself into what _she_ wanted you to be. Now, I haven't met Erica, so I can't say this for certain, but it sounds to me as though Erica fed off of that to a certain extent. She enjoyed her control over you. She felt validated by your adoration of her, of your willingness to go to any extent to please her. Am I making sense so far?"

Callie nodded numbly. She made a mental note to give Owen a commendation or a promotion or…something. This guy was good.

"So, when you put your foot down," Owen continued. "When you refused to take the deep-space mission, she didn't know how to react. She was so accustomed to you just doing what she wanted."

"So she left."

"Yes," Owen nodded. "And it sounds to me like she later came to regret that decision, because she missed the validation and reinforcement that you gave her."

"So she doesn't actually love me?"

"Callie, I can't answer that."

"Do I love her?"

"What do you think?"

"I think I love Arizona, and I wish Erica would get sucked down a one-way wormhole to the Delta Quadrant. Maybe she can be the new Borg Queen."

Owen Hunt let out a laugh, before giving Callie a lighthearted smile.

"So what do I do?" Callie asked with a pout. "Am I doomed? Do I have any hope for a healthy relationship with Arizona?"

"You're not doomed, and I think you already _do_ have a healthy relationship with Arizona, though it sounds like you two could use a little more work in the communication department. And workplace romances always present special difficulties."

Callie chuckled mirthlessly. That much was true.

"You're not crazy, and you don't have a condition. I think you just need…a little extra help navigating a difficult and unhealthy relationship in your life. You need to get some closure. And there's no shame in that."

Callie sighed and nodded. She still felt ashamed of her feelings toward Erica—her need for Erica's approval, but hearing Owen's analysis of it had helped her think about it rationally. Maybe she could finally do something about it. Stand up to Erica. Get rid of her need for Erica's approval once and for all.

"Soooo….." Callie said, dragging out the word. "What do I do now?"

Owen leaned back in his chair. "You go and run the station. And you talk to Erica in a safe, neutral environment. You two can talk here with me, if you'd like. And I'd recommend that you to come and see me a couple more times, just to talk things over with a person who is removed from the situation."

"Ok, I will," she nodded. She found that she really liked Owen Hunt.

"But please make appointments from now on," Owen said with a crooked grin.

Callie smiled as a blush crossed her face. "Yeah."

* * *

Arizona stared after Callie as her commanding officer stormed out of Command. Callie had just abruptly run out of her office, planted a whopper of a kiss on Arizona, asked Arizona to run the station, and rushed out the door. Arizona was beyond confused.

Her eyes flicked towards Erica Hahn, who was studying her from head to toe. Arizona swallowed hard. She felt very insecure. Erica was…intimidating. She was considerably taller than Arizona, and she looked like she was in excellent physical shape. She commanded respect just as well as Callie did. Her demeanor was cool and calm. But not like Callie's. Callie was usually calm and collected, but she was also warm. Erica was…frosty. She sent an unpleasant chill down Arizona's spine. And Arizona really didn't like the way Erica was studying her, examining her, evaluating her.

"Robbins, was it?" Erica asked, disdain dripping from her voice.

"That's right," Arizona replied coolly, determined to win whatever competition they were currently having.

"I'd like a word," Erica said, nodding her head towards Callie's office. "Now." When Arizona didn't budge, Erica added, "That's an order."

"Commander Hahn, I'd like to remind you that while you technically outrank me, I'm the first officer aboard this station. I am under no obligation to follow your orders, and seeing how Commander Torres just relinquished control of this station to me, _you_ are actually under obligation to follow _my_ orders."

Erica snarled at Arizona. Arizona felt just a little bit taller. She was right. She had the regs on her side. She was firmly in charge here. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lexie and Meredith exchanging confused glances. They'd never seen Arizona like this before.

"Lt. Commander Robbins, I apologize," Erica said, her voice entirely unapologetic. "Could I please have a conversation with you in Commander Torres' office?"

"Sure," Arizona said, a smug smile on her face. If Erica wanted to play, she was game. This was _her_ playground. Erica was going down.

Arizona stepped out of her station quickly, making sure that she led Erica into Callie's office and not the other way around. Instead of leading them towards the sitting area, Arizona headed for Callie's desk and sat down in Callie's chair. Erica didn't need to know that Arizona had never sat behind Callie's desk before and that Callie had never given her permission to do so. Given the circumstances, Arizona didn't think Callie would mind.

"What can I do for you, Commander Hahn?" Arizona asked nonchalantly. She was enjoying how irritated Erica seemed to be. Internally, Arizona was still somewhat afraid of this woman. But her father and brother had taught her how to handle these situations. She wasn't about to let this woman see her flinch.

"So," Erica began. "You and Callie?"

"Yes," Arizona said with a smile and a nod.

"How long has that been going on?" Erica asked.

"About four months," she responded, as nonchalantly as ever.

"Did she tell you that she's engaged to me?"

"She told me that she _used_ to be engaged to you, yes."

"We never ended the engagement," Erica said with an evil smile.

"I'm pretty sure leaving her in the dead of night and disappearing for six years counts as ending the engagement," Arizona shot back, a definite edge in her tone. Nonchalant Arizona was gone as soon as Erica tried to lay a claim to her woman.

Erica scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You may think she's yours now, Robbins, but Callie is mine. She's always been mine."

"Oh, you can keep thinking that, _Hahn_, if it helps you sleep better at night. But see, here's the thing about that." Arizona had really started to get going at this point. "I don't need help sleeping at night. I'm the one who has Callie Torres in her bed."

"Oh, I'm not surprised Cal has fallen into bed with you, Robbins," Erica replied sardonically. "You're a cute little thing. Nice, perky boobs. Tight butt." Arizona clenched her fists. Erica was not allowed to look at her body that way. Her body was for Callie, and Callie only. "But Callie's only with you now because I've been out of the area," Erica continued. "She'll come back to me if she knows what's good for her."

Arizona laughed darkly. "Erica, if _you_ knew what was good for you, you'd high tail it out of this station and camp out on your ship. You don't want to mess with me."

Erica just smiled evilly and cackled. "Oh, I think I _do_."

"Uhh, Lt. Commander?" Lexie Grey poked her head in the door. She was clearly anxious about having to interrupt…whatever was going on. "Admiral Johnson has arrived back on the station, so you and Commander Hahn need to meet with him and Admiral Jennings?"

"Thank you, Lexie," Arizona nodded and smiled warmly at the ensign.

Lexie gave her a tight nod in response and scampered out of the office.

Arizona returned her gaze to Erica. "Conference room?" she suggested nonchalantly as she stood from Callie's desk.

"Uh huh," came Erica's unenthusiastic reply.

* * *

"Hey!" Callie called out as soon as Arizona walked into her quarters. "Computer, pause recording," she commanded. The Parisses Squares match she'd been watching to clear her head immediately stopped. Callie stood to greet her girlfriend.

"How'd the rest of the day go?" she asked after Arizona gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Fine," Arizona sighed as she plopped herself down on the couch. "Exhausting."

Callie took a seat next to her girlfriend. "Jennings and Johnson?"

"Were fine. They wondered why you weren't there, but I just said something had come up."

Callie nodded and hesitated for a moment. What she really wanted to know was if Arizona had had any interactions with her ex-fiancée. "And…Erica?"

"Also fine. I handled her."

Callie's eyes opened in alarm. What did _that _mean?

Arizona caught the look on her girlfriend's face and laughed. "Relax Callie," she said, giving Callie's hand a squeeze. "I didn't kill her."

"I wish you would have," Callie mumbled. Arizona smiled at Callie before leaning in for a kiss.

Callie sighed in contentment. Today had just been…too much. And Arizona's mouth on hers felt like perfection.

"So where'd you go anyways?" Arizona said as she pulled out of the kiss, flinging her feet up on the coffee table and snuggling into Callie's side.

"Mmm, I may have been having a slight mental breakdown." She smiled as she felt Arizona chuckling into her side.

"And did Parisses Squares therapy help with your breakdown?" Arizona asked tiredly.

"Mm hmm," Callie confirmed. She wasn't quite sure she felt like telling Arizona about her conversation with Owen yet. She still wasn't quite sure how she felt about that conversation herself.

They sat quietly for a few moments, Callie just enjoying the feeling of Arizona nestled against her. After a few minutes she looked down at Arizona and realized that the blonde had fallen asleep.

Callie took the time to examine the woman sleeping in her arms. Arizona looked so small, so peaceful. Yet looks could be deceiving. Arizona was strong—she was a fighter. And Callie knew that while Arizona hadn't killed Erica, there was probably more to the story that Arizona hadn't told her. Callie had no doubt in her mind that if Arizona hadn't given Erica hell yet, it was well on its way.

Callie leaned down and kissed the top of Arizona's head. Arizona sighed happily in her sleep. "Come on babe," Callie whispered gently to her little warrior. "Let's get you to bed."

* * *

Arizona Robbins awoke with a start. Callie Torres' head was between her legs.

"Mmm," Arizona heard—and felt—Callie hum as soon as she realized the blonde was awake. "Good morning, baby," Callie murmured as Arizona instinctively threw her head back on her pillow and snaked a hand into Callie's silky black hair.

"Mo—morning," Arizona croaked out, too distracted by what Callie was doing to maintain any coherent thoughts.

As Arizona was coming down from her high several minutes later, Callie crawled back up her girlfriend's body and snuggled closer to Arizona.

"What…what was _that_ for?" Arizona asked.

"Someone," Callie said, placing a kiss on Arizona's sweaty forehead, "fell asleep on the couch last night, before I had a chance to show her how much I love her."

Arizona cracked a smile as she tried to stop panting. "Is that so?"

Callie nodded mischievously.

"Well if that's the case, I should fall asleep on the couch more often."

Callie chuckled and gave Arizona a quick kiss.

"Thank you, by the way," Arizona added. "That was one hell of a way to wake up." She placed her own kiss on Callie's cheek. "And I love you, too."

The two women rested blissfully in each other's arms for a moment. Callie had woken Arizona up early—not that Arizona was complaining—and they had about an hour before they had to take their sonic showers and head to Command.

"Callie?" Arizona asked.

"Hmm?"

"Can we talk about….her?" Arizona asked, still not wanting to say Erica's name in bed. She felt Callie's entire body tense and immediately regretted asking.

"Umm, yeah, ok," came Callie's hesitant reply. Callie sat up straighter in bed and looked at Arizona expectantly.

"Can we sit on the couch though?" Arizona said, looking up at Callie. "I don't really wanna talk about her…here."

Callie nodded and the two women grabbed some coffee and headed for the couch.

"So uh," Arizona started. "What did she say to you yesterday? Before you left Command? What did she want?"

Callie's eyes shifted away from Arizona's face and landed on the mug she was holding. Callie was fidgeting, and it was making Arizona nervous.

"She…she told me that she was back for me. That she loves me and still wants to marry me."

Arizona's grip on her own coffee mug tightened and she felt a knot growing in her stomach. She couldn't comprehend what Callie had ever seen in Erica to begin with. The woman was..._evil_. And who abandons someone only to return six _years_ later, expecting to be taken back? _No_, Arizona thought to herself. This woman's intentions could not be honest.

"If she loved you, she would have come back right away," Arizona said coldly.

"I don't know, Arizona," Callie shrugged. "I checked—her deep space mission only recently got back into Federation territory. She didn't really have a chance to come back before now."

Arizona felt like she was going to be sick. Did Callie actually believe Erica? She was taking Erica seriously?

"And," Callie continued. "And she still had her engagement ring on."

Arizona swallowed hard. Callie sounded almost...sad. Arizona wanted her to be furious. She wanted Callie to be raging and pacing and scoffing at the idea that Erica thought she still had a chance with her. But Arizona was sensing that Callie still had feelings for Erica, and it made her coffee taste sour in her mouth.

"Did you keep yours?" Arizona asked, her voice small.

"Keep what?"

"Your engagement ring."

"No," Callie shook her head. "I...about a year and a half after Erica left, Mark walked into my quarters on the Miami and saw me looking at it. I had stopped wearing it, but I still looked at it every night."

_A year and a half?_ Arizona thought. _She was still pining after Erica a year and a half after she'd abandoned her?_

"Mark just took one look at me and got angry," Callie continued. "He grabbed the ring and was about to put it into the replicator to recycle it, but I stopped him." Callie paused. "A few months later, I took it to the transporter room and I spaced it. It's out there floating somewhere in Sector 209."

_I wish Erica was out there floating with it_, Arizona thought to herself.

"So..." Arizona paused. "So how are you feeling about all of this?"

Callie sighed and shook her head. "I...I don't know."

"You don't know?" Arizona asked incredulously. "Callie, this woman abandoned you and never looked back! How can you not know?!"

Callie leaned forward and rested her head in her hands. "I went to see Owen Hunt yesterday."

"What?"

"Yesterday. When I stormed out of Command? I went to see Owen Hunt."

Arizona frowned slightly. Owen Hunt was the station's chief counselor. He was there to help the Starfleet crew with mental illnesses, or grief, or trauma. Not evil ex-fiancées.

"Why?" Arizona asked, confused.

Callie sighed. "Because, because Erica just confuses the shit out of me."

"Callie, what could possibly be confusing about this?" She wanted to be a patient and supportive girlfriend, but she was struggling to understand why Callie couldn't just tell Erica to go screw herself.

"Arizona, she...she grabbed my hand yesterday, and it felt _good_. It felt like, like...home."

Arizona felt like someone had just stabbed her in the gut. Her eyes flashed to Callie in hurt and disbelief before she stood from the couch.

"Arizona, wait!" Callie called after her. Arizona felt Callie grab her wrist, restraining her from walking away.

"No!" Arizona exclaimed, whirling around to face Callie. "She feels like _home_?" Arizona asked, exasperated. "How am I supposed to interpret that, Callie? _I'm_ the one who's supposed to feel like home. _I'm_ the one who's supposed to be the one that makes you feel good. You tell me you love me, and then, and then you tell me that you enjoyed having another woman put her hands on you?" Arizona stopped, grasping for the right words to describe how bewildered she was.

"She didn't 'put her hands on me,' Arizona. She grabbed my hand. Nothing happened."

Arizona just scoffed. "That's supposed to make it okay?"

"Will you please just sit down?"

Arizona rolled her eyes and rejoined Callie on the couch with an angry huff.

"Arizona," Callie started. "Do you have any...vices? Bad habits?"

Arizona rolled her eyes again. She didn't see what this had to do with anything. "I used to smoke sometimes."

"You SMOKED?" Callie questioned, raising her voice. Arizona gave her a look. Callie was going to lecture _her_?

"Sorry," Callie mumbled. "Ok, so you smoked, and you knew it was bad for you, but something about it drew you in."

Arizona nodded.

"Well Erica Hahn is the most toxic thing in the universe," Callie said simply.

Arizona snorted. _You can say that again._

"Arizona, when you're around someone else that's smoking, and you inhale the smoke, do you ever feel like having a cigarette?"

Arizona nodded.

"You know that it's bad for you, and you know that you're not _going_ to smoke, because you quit, but still...there's something familiar about it? A part of you wants it because it used to relax you? It used to make you feel good?"

Arizona nodded again. It was true. Every once in a while, Arizona would catch a puff of smoke at McDreamy's, and she'd close her eyes and try to soak it in.

"I was addicted to Erica Hahn for nine years."

"Callie, a woman is not a drug," Arizona snapped. Comparing Erica to a cigarette was just about the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.

Callie ignored Arizona's comment. "I lived to please her, Arizona." Callie's voice was quiet, remorseful. "I completely ignored myself, and I let her make me into what _she_ wanted me to be."

"Callie—" Arizona really didn't need to be hearing about how devoted Callie used to be to another woman.

"No, Arizona, please," Callie interrupted. "I love you. _You_. You're the only person I want to be with."

"Then why—"

"Because I have issues," Callie cut her off. "Because I was in a really bad relationship for the first nine years of my adult life. And I'm over her. I am. But having her show up out of nowhere after all these years is just...stirring up..._issues_."

"Well," Arizona said with a frustrated sigh. "Are you going to get over these 'issues'?" She didn't have a clue what Callie was talking about.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes," Callie repeated. "I never got the chance for closure with Erica. I need to talk to her. I need to understand what happened."

"I don't want you alone with her," Arizona said quietly, staring at her knees.

"Then I won't be alone with her," Callie replied evenly. "I'll take Mark or Aria or Michael with me."

"Ok," Arizona nodded.

"If it makes you feel any better," Callie said, "Owen thinks we have a healthy relationship."

Arizona's eyes flashed back to Callie's. "Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Really," Callie said with a smile.

When Arizona just remained looking skeptical, Callie reached over and grabbed Arizona's hand.

"I love you, Arizona," she said. "I love you so, so much. And you have _nothing_ to worry about. I just need you to be patient. I just need time."

Arizona sighed as she leaned back into the couch and sipped her coffee. She didn't understand what Callie meant by having "issues." She didn't understand why Callie felt this need to please a woman who had cast her aside and abandoned her. But Arizona knew that she loved Callie, and part of love was trust. She was going to have to suck it up and trust Callie to sort this all out. She just hoped Callie would do it quickly.

* * *

Callie sat in a booth inside Joe's, sipping on her wine and nervously tapping her fingers. Arizona was getting drinks with Teddy, Henry, and her recently-arrived brother Timothy at McDreamy's, so Callie had thought it would be a good time to finally sit down and have it out with Erica. The sooner she could get this resolved, the better. It had broken Callie's heart to see Arizona so hurt that morning. Callie wanted nothing more to get her closure, show Erica the door, and get back to making Arizona happy.

"Hey!" Aria smiled as she and Michael arrived at Callie's table. She slid into the booth next to Callie and gave Callie's hand a tight squeeze.

"Red or white, babe?" Michael asked.

"I'm about to see Erica Hahn," Aria replied to her husband. "Get me something hard and keep em coming." Michael smiled as he kissed his wife on the cheek and disappeared to get drinks.

"So she's really back?" Aria asked as she turned to Callie.

Callie nodded glumly. "She's really back."

"Bitch," Aria muttered.

Callie smirked at her sister as she took another sip of her wine. Aria could be a pain at times, sure, but Callie didn't know what she'd do without her.

"Hey Cal," came a gravelly voice. Callie looked up from Aria's face to see Erica standing at the entrance to her booth. Callie's fists clenched and her entire body suddenly became tense.

"Erica," Callie said with a tight nod.

"I didn't realize this would be a family affair," Erica said as she eyed Aria.

"Well she couldn't be sure that you'd show up," Aria spat at Erica. "You have a habit of randomly disappearing."

Erica rolled her eyes at Aria before she slid into the booth, sitting across from Callie. "Oh, and Michael, too!" she said with fake enthusiasm when Michael returned with drinks for Aria and himself.

"Erica," he said stiffly. "Can I get you anything?" he asked as he handed Aria her drink.

"I'll have what Callie's having," Erica replied. Michael nodded and headed back to the bar.

"So what do you want, Erica?" Callie spit out. She just wanted to get this over with.

"I want you to come back to me," came Erica's even reply. Her eyes flashed to Aria for a moment when Aria choked on her drink.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Callie said firmly.

"Why, because you're having a little fling with your priss of a first officer?" Erica asked.

Callie felt her hands tighten around her wine glass. "Her name is Arizona, and she's not a fling. I love her." Out of the corner of her eye, Callie could see a look of surprise on Aria's face. She hadn't yet filled Aria in on the recent steps she and Arizona had taken in their relationship.

Erica, however, seemed unfazed by Callie's answer. She just rolled her eyes and inclined her head towards Michael when he handed her a glass of wine and slid into the seat next to her.

"You've been with her for four months," Erica said with disdain. "It's new. It'll wear off. We were together for nine years." She took a sip of wine, acting as if her statement sealed the deal.

"And then you left."

Erica's expression softened a bit. "I told you, I'm sorry about that. I was wrong."

"You're sorry?" Callie scoffed. "Erica, it's been six years! Did you really think I'd just sit and wait for you?"

"Yes."

Callie was taken aback. Maybe Owen Hunt was right. Maybe Erica really saw Callie as some kind of little pet, some creature that existed solely to make Erica feel good about herself. Callie felt her blood boil. She may have been that pathetic when Erica had left her, but she was a different person now. She was better. Stronger. And she knew what real love felt like. Real love protected. Real love didn't ask you to change yourself. Real love was...Arizona Robbins.

"Erica..." Callie gritted her teeth. She felt Aria squeeze her hand underneath the table. Aria knew this was hard for Callie. Aria knew how hard it was for Callie to say "no" to Erica. Callie's parents had come to love Erica, had accepted her as a daughter. But Aria had always remained cool towards Erica. Callie hadn't understood why at the time, but Aria had never liked Erica, and she had annoyed Callie by constantly telling her so. Where Callie was open and loving and forgiving, Aria was slightly more closed off and skeptical. And, judging by her phenomenal choice of a husband and her instant dislike of Erica, this trait made Aria an excellent judge of character.

"Callie, it was wrong of me to leave you, but are you really going to throw us away over some little...cheerleader?"

"_You_ threw us away Erica! _You_ did!" Callie took a long gulp of her wine, hoping it would give her the courage to say the things she needed to say. She gripped Aria's hand more tightly, hoping to draw strength from her sister. "And you know what?" Callie said. "As much as it sucked at the time...I'm _happy_ that you left!"

Erica's eyes widened in shock. She was clearly not used to Callie talking to her this way.

"If you hadn't left," Callie continued, "I'd probably still be your little thrall, following you around the galaxy. But you did leave!" Callie was really starting to feel brave now. "And I'm stronger for it! I'm my own person now! I'm Commander Torres! This entire station is freaking _mine_! I don't have to put up with your shit anymore!"

Callie's booth was starting to attract strange looks from other patrons at the bar, but she didn't really give a damn. The only facial expressions she cared about were the proud looks coming from Michael and Aria and the enraged look coming from Erica Hahn.

Callie couldn't believe how good this felt. How freeing this felt. Her certainty that she was in love with Arizona was giving her confidence. Owen Hunt's rational analysis of her toxic relationship was helping her think about Erica clearly instead of snapping into her make-Erica-happy-at-all-times conditioning. Her sister and brother-in-law's silent encouragement was giving her the moral support she needed to let it all out. She was finally saying "no" to Erica Hahn, and it felt _good_.

* * *

Arizona Robbins slammed back another shot of Tequila. She was drunk. Drunk and very, very happy. It was so good to see Tim again, and with Teddy there too, it felt like old times. She even enjoyed Henry when she could get images of him naked out of her head. But there was one thing missing. Callie. Her girlfriend. Her girlfriend who was currently getting drinks with her evil ex-fiancée.

"So you guys wanna go to Joe's?" she suggested excitedly. She felt like paying Erica a little visit. If she'd been sober, she would have identified this impulse as being a bad idea. Unfortunately, she was plastered.

"Sure!" Teddy exclaimed. Arizona had mentioned that Callie was going to talk to Erica tonight, but she hadn't mentioned _where_. And at the time, she didn't feel the need to share with her brother and best friend that the reason she wanted to go to Joe's was to pick a fight with Erica Hahn, Queen Bitch of the Alpha Quadrant.

"Whoo!" Arizona exclaimed as she waved her hands in the air. Teddy, who was just as drunk as Arizona, mimicked her actions, while Tim and Henry, who were considerably larger and better at holding their liquor, just smiled at each other knowingly.

Arizona led her group out of McDreamy's, and they made the short walk down the Promenade to Joe's Bar. After spotting her gorgeous girlfriend and her equally gorgeous sister in a booth near the back, Arizona headed straight for her. Callie and Aria were facing towards her, and she could see the backs of Michael's and Erica's heads. She could tell from the expressions on Callie's and Aria's faces that Erica was in the middle of a tirade, which Arizona was more than happy to interrupt.

* * *

Callie couldn't believe Erica. Erica had left _her_, and now Erica was accusing her of being unfaithful? This was ridiculous.

"Hey everyone!" came a bubbly voice to her right.

Callie's eyes snapped to the entrance to the booth, where Arizona, Teddy, Henry, and a man Callie recognized as Arizona's brother Tim stood. And Arizona was drunk. Callie's eyes widened slightly. This could not be good.

"How ya doing, Michael?"

Callie could only watch, dumbfounded, as Arizona seated herself in Michael's lap, wrapping both of her arms around her neck. If Erica wasn't there, Callie would have been well on her way to arousal by now. She found drunken Arizona to be exceedingly hot.

Michael's face was a split between amused and worried. His hands immediately found their way to Arizona's hips to steady the clearly intoxicated blonde. "I'm doing well, Arizona. You?"

"I'm doing groovy!" Arizona said with a huge smile. She turned to address her brother. "Timmy!" She quickly swiveled back around in Michael's lap. "This is the love of my life, Commander Calliope Iphegenia Torres; her beautiful sister, Aria Aurelia Torres Santos; Aria's husband, Michael 'I don't know his middle name' Santos; and Commander Erica Lucifer Hahn, Callie's evil-psycho-icy-bitch-whore of an ex-fiancée. Everyone, this is my brother, Commander Timothy Andrew Robbins."

A huge smile broke out on Callie's face as Arizona turned gleefully back to face her brother. _Evil-psycho-icy-bitch-whore?_ That was the best description of Erica Callie had ever heard. Maybe Arizona showing up drunk wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

"Arizona, I uh," Tim paused while he shot a nervous look at Callie. He leaned forward and extracted Arizona from Michael's lap. "I think we should call it a night."

Arizona shrugged her brother off and wobbled only slightly. "No, we're just getting started!" Arizona smiled. "Besides," she stared lustfully at Callie. "I wanna dance with my girl!"

"Well I'll hand it to you Cal," Erica said, taking a small sip of her wine. "She sure is a little spitfire."

Callie's gaze turned back to Erica, who looked like she was enjoying herself.

"What was that, Erica?" Arizona spit towards Callie's ex.

"I think you heard me," Erica responded, turning towards Arizona.

"Aria," Arizona said, gesturing for Aria to let her sit next to Callie. Aria quickly slid out of the booth and Arizona replaced her. Arizona's arm was immediately around Callie's shoulder, and Callie placed a steadying hand on Arizona's thigh. Arizona had been through a lot, and she deserved to have a verbal spar with Erica if she wanted one, but Callie really didn't want to have to demote Arizona…_again_…for getting in a bar fight.

"So I hear you're being a little bit of a sour puss, pining after my girlfriend," Arizona said perkily.

Erica flashed her signature smug smile before taking another sip of her wine. "You're got a lot of nerve saying that, Alabama," Erica replied. "Callie was mine for nine years. That's not something you just forget."

"Arizona," Callie stated evenly. "Her name is Arizona."

"How does someone get named after a non-existent state in a non-existent country, anyways?" Erica asked mockingly.

"She was named for the USS Arizona," Tim supplied quickly.

Erica turned to look at him. "Wasn't that ship destroyed in the Dominion War?"

"Yes," he nodded solemnly. "And it was captained by a man named Edward Robbins."

"Oooh, am I sensing a cute little Starfleet family?" Erica asked, turning back to face Arizona.

"Ok," Arizona said, sitting up straighter. Callie could sense that Arizona was about to launch into some kind of speech.

"Listen up, Commander Evil," Arizona started.

Callie chuckled softly. She was enjoying all of Arizona's name-calling.

"After we've done here," Arizona gestured wildly at the booth. "You're going to go back to your ship and do whatever it is that Admiral Jennings has you do. You're never going to look at Callie again, you're never going to speak to Callie again, and you're never going to touch Callie again. If you do, you will find my boot firmly entrenched in your ass." Arizona narrowed her eyes. "I think you'll find that quite uncomfortable."

Callie was on the verge of laughter as Arizona continued speaking. Erica looked less than amused.

"And why should I agree to these terms?" Erica asked.

"Because," said Arizona. "I love Callie. Callie loves me. And you?" Arizona gestured to Erica with both hands. "You don't matter! You're not a part of this equation. Callie and I are gonna get married, and then we're gonna have 10 babies, and then we're gonna get old and fat and teach painting at Starfleet Academy. Meanwhile, you…you are gonna get a cat."

When Arizona stopped speaking, Callie looked at her expectantly. "What?" Arizona asked with a shrug.

"That's it?" Callie muttered, quietly enough so Erica couldn't hear her. "She's gonna get a cat?"

"Sounds like quite the plan you've got there," Erica said loudly, interrupting their private conversation.

"It does, doesn't it?" Callie smiled. She leaned in to place a peck on Arizona's cheek. She knew that Arizona was drunk, and she wasn't going to hold Arizona to anything she'd just said—not to mention that painting wasn't offered at the Academy—but the picture Arizona had just painted of their future sounded absolutely perfect to Callie.

"See, there's just one problem," Erica said smugly.

"And what would that be?" Arizona challenged.

"The fact that Callie and I never fell out of love with each other."

"Oh Erica, come on," Callie huffed. "I've just spent the past _hour_ telling you that we're over and that I love Arizona."

"True," Erica conceded. "But you never once said that you don't love me."

Callie sat back in the booth. It was true. She _hadn't_ told Erica that she didn't love her. When Erica had shown up out of nowhere, when Erica had confessed her love in Callie's office, Callie had been…confused. She knew she loved Arizona, and she knew that she wanted to be with Arizona and not Erica, but she'd been having trouble nailing down exactly _what_ it was she felt for her old fiancée.

Was it love? Was it love left over from nine years of being with Erica? Callie's conversation with Owen the day before, her conversation with Arizona that morning, and her conversation with Erica in the bar had all given her a lot to think about. Had she _ever_ loved Erica? Had Erica ever loved _her_? The more she thought about it, the more her previous relationship with Erica just seemed like a mess of manipulation and low self-esteem.

Callie turned to look at Arizona. Arizona was staring at her expectantly, the slightest hint of insecurity in Arizona's blue eyes. Callie lifted a hand to caress Arizona's cheek as she considered the woman by her side.

Her mind flashed to her first meeting with Arizona, when the blonde had been feistily fighting with Mark Sloan in sick-bay. Next, she and Arizona were sitting atop a mountain on Betazed, staring into each other's eyes as the sun set in front of them. Then Callie was screaming at Arizona in her office in the middle of the night, Callie raging because her first officer had gotten in a bar fight. A few hours later, Arizona was sitting in her lap, sobbing uncontrollably into her chest. Then all a sudden she was kissing Arizona on her couch, then kissing Arizona in a storage closet and asking her to be her girlfriend. And then…and then Arizona was leaning against Callie's dresser, shyly taking her clothes off. Callie's mouth was going dry over how breathtaking Arizona's body was, and they were making love like it was what they had been made to do. Images were flashing through Callie's mind at a rapid pace—images of Arizona panting and writhing in pleasure beneath her, images of Arizona listening carefully to Callie after a long day at work, images of Arizona in a tiny blue bikini, fighting valiantly to defeat Henry and Teddy at beach volleyball, images of Arizona sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing Chinese Checkers with Hailey, Troy, and Gavin. Images of Arizona telling her she was the love of her life in a cargo bay.

_"I feel things for you that…that I've never felt before. And I want to be with you. Arizona, I absolutely want to be with you."_

_"Except with Erica."_

_"What?"_

_"Things you've never felt before, except with Erica."_

_"No. Erica was…she was my best friend. And I loved her, I did. And I would have married her. But with you, it's just…different. I, I don't know how to explain it, because I can't put it into words. And I know it's early, and it scares the hell out of me to admit this, but, but you're special to me, Arizona. Erica was my best friend; my partner. But you? Arizona, you could be…more than that." You could be the love of my life._

Callie's mind snapped back to the present, and she found her hand still cupping Arizona's cheek, her brown eyes still observing the insecurity in Arizona's baby blues.

And suddenly, she knew.

She'd been wrong. She'd been wrong that night when she'd told Arizona that she'd loved Erica. She hadn't. Not in the way you're supposed to love the person you spend your life with. Callie was still at a loss as to exactly _what_ she'd felt for Erica. But it didn't matter. It wasn't mature, romantic, all-consuming love. The thing she'd never felt before—the thing that she couldn't put into words—_that_ was love. She loved Arizona. And Arizona was the only woman she'd ever truly loved.

"Erica," Callie said, turning to face the woman who no longer held any power over her. "I don't love you. I never did. And I want you out of my life."

* * *

**AN: Needless to say, I am not updating this story for a few days. Have a good weekend!**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Okay, I lied. I'm updating. Can't stay away! I blew off all of my homework and wrote two chapters today. Tomorrow's not gonna be fun for me lol. Anyways, this one is pure fluff because I thought y'all needed a break. Chapter 18 will actually have something important happen in it.**

* * *

Callie pawed hungrily at Arizona's butt and thighs as they stumbled their way back to Callie's quarters. In the back of her mind, Callie knew it probably wasn't appropriate for the station's commanding and first officers to be making out in the public corridors, but she just didn't care. She needed to be kissing Arizona, touching Arizona, pleasing Arizona as soon as possible.

"Wait, wait," panted Arizona as soon as the two women crossed the threshold of Callie's place. "I don't wanna be drunk for this."

"But you're so damn sexy when you're drunk," Callie growled as she continued pushing the blonde towards the bedroom. The backs of Arizona's legs collided with Callie's bed, and Callie was immediately on top of her girlfriend, grabbing roughly at Arizona's breasts and tugging at Arizona's pants.

"No, Callie, no," Arizona protested, trying to wiggle her way out from under Callie's body. Callie groaned in frustration as she rolled off Arizona and allowed her girlfriend to stand. Arizona quickly ran into the bathroom and Callie could hear the sounds of her girlfriend ransacking through the place. "Callie!" she heard Arizona call in drunken frustration. "Where do you keep your freaking hypos?"

Callie followed her girlfriend into the bathroom and opened a cabinet opposite her sink. Grabbing a hypospray injector, she jammed a cartridge of alcohol neutralizer into it and held it up for Arizona. Arizona lifted her hair to expose her carotid artery, and Callie quickly pressed the hypospray against her girlfriend's neck, cancelling the effects of the alcohol working its way through Arizona's body.

"Thank you," Arizona muttered before firmly crashing her lips against Callie's.

"Mm hmm," Callie moaned in acknowledgement as she pushed Arizona gently back into the bedroom. She pressed Arizona's back flat against the bed and resumed her earlier position on top of her girlfriend's delicious body.

"Callie?" Arizona said, pushing lightly on Callie's shoulders.

Callie leaned back far enough to look at Arizona. She could feel her arousal and frustration rising by the second. _What now?_

"Did you mean what you said?" Arizona asked.

"What are you talking about?" Callie said before she began to kiss Arizona's neck and jawline. She was much more interested in having a conversation with their bodies than with words.

"About never loving Erica."

"What about never loving Erica?" Callie asked as she started fumbling with the clasp of Arizona's bra.

"Did you mean it? You never loved her?"

"Yeah I meant it," Callie said, working now on removing Arizona's shirt.

"Callie!" Arizona placed both of her hands on Callie's wrists to cease her movements and force her to look at her.

"What?" Callie sighed. Couldn't they have this conversation later?

"You told me earlier—that night that I found out about Erica? You told me that you'd loved her. You were going to marry her, Callie." Arizona's eyes were questioning, confused.

Callie let out a frustrated huff. Apparently they were going to have this conversation now.

"I—I thought I did at the time," Callie explained. "But, whatever I felt for her just…doesn't compare to what I feel for you. I was wrong to be with her and I was wrong to agree to marry her. I guess I just didn't know what love _was._ But Arizona, this? What we have? This is love. You're the only woman I've ever loved."

Arizona smiled and reached up to caress Callie's face with both of her hands. "You mean that?" Arizona said quietly.

"Yes," Callie said simply.

"You're the only woman I've ever loved, too, Calliope."

Callie felt her face break into a broad smile. Six years prior, when Erica had left her alone and abandoned, she never would have dreamed of being this happy. Arizona Robbins was a miracle. Her miracle.

"Did _you_ mean what _you_ said?" Callie asked. She knew Arizona had been drunk, but hearing Arizona talk about marriage and children had given her a warm feeling in her gut.

"I meant everything I said to her, Callie."

"Even the part about…" Callie hesitated. "About marrying me someday? About having kids with me?"

Arizona broke into a dazzling smile. "Yes, Calliope, yes. Every word."

Callie let out a quiet squeal and leaned down to kiss Arizona's waiting lips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Callie said, kissing Arizona's lips repeatedly.

Arizona giggled and ran her hand through some hair that had fallen in Callie's face before tucking it behind Callie's ear. "I love you, Commander Calliope Torres."

"And I love you, Arizona Robbins."

Arizona smiled and raised herself up to place a peck on Callie's cheek.

"Arizona?" Callie asked. Now that that was settled, she wanted to get back to business.

"Hmm?"

"Can we have sex now?"

Arizona nodded with a smirk. "If we have to."

* * *

"Admiral Kyoto," Arizona smiled. "It's an honor to meet you sir."

"Likewise, Lt. Commander," the admiral said, shaking Arizona's hand. "Your brother has told me a lot about you."

Commander Timothy Robbins, who was standing behind the admiral, took a moment to wink at his sister.

"Hopefully not too many stories about when we were children," Arizona teased as she indicated for the admiral to follow her.

"Only good things, Zona, I promise," Tim piped up.

"_Uh huh_," Arizona said disbelievingly. Her brother was not a shy person. He was an excessively social man and an incessant practical jokester. Just as good looking, if not _better_ looking than his sister, Tim had no problem using his appearance and charm to his advantage—both professionally and relationally. Back at the academy, Arizona was convinced he'd slept with every single one of her friends, and he got promoted suspiciously fast when he had female commanding officers. And Arizona knew her brother's big mouth—there was _no way_ Admiral Kyoto didn't know some embarrassing stories about her.

"Alright sir, will this office be satisfactory?" Arizona had led the admiral and her brother to a private office on the command level. Admiral Kyoto was one of the Federation's best tactical strategists. He taught seminars in advanced strategy and logistics at Starfleet Command School, and had been brought in to be the brain behind Admiral Jenning's brawn. He and Tim—his chief adjutant—would be remaining aboard the _Seattle_ to coordinate the war with the Scarrans. Arizona had been beyond relieved when her brother had informed her that he wouldn't be travelling to the front lines.

"It's perfect, Lt. Commander Robbins, thank you," the admiral nodded. "Commander Robbins and I will get to work right away."

"Alright," Arizona smiled. "Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Commander Torres has assigned me to make sure you have everything you need."

"I'll be sure to let you know," the admiral said, pulling out his desk chair and sitting down. Arizona flashed a smile at Tim before leaving the office and heading back to Command.

"Hey! Flagstaff!" she heard Tim call when she was almost at the end of the hallway.

"What?" she said, turning around to see Tim approaching her.

"Did you forget what day it was?"

Arizona sighed and rolled her eyes. "Tim…" she began to protest.

"It's your birthday! What are we doing tonight?"

"Nothing, Tim." Arizona didn't like celebrating her birthday to begin with, and she especially wasn't excited for this one—she was turning 30 years old that day, and it made her feel like her youth was behind her.

"Nothing?" Tim complained. "Callie's okay with that?"

Arizona tried to avoid eye contact with her brother.

"You haven't told her, have you?" Tim said in an accusatory voice. "Arizona Robbins!"

"Tim," Arizona shrugged. "I just…I haven't gotten around to it."

"Well I don't care. I'm taking you and Callie to that…"Pleasure Palace" place I saw near Joe's."

"Tim, that's a strip club," Arizona argued.

"So?" Tim said incredulously. "Arizona, you love strip clubs."

"Tim, I'm in an established relationship! You can't take me to a strip club."

"Oh like that ever stopped you before," Tim chastised. "Besides, I bet Callie would love seeing you get a lap dance. It's hot!"

Arizona sighed in frustration. There had been a time in Arizona's life—during her years at the Academy and as a junior officer—that she wouldn't have thought twice about going to a strip club. She'd been a party girl, drinking most nights and flitting from woman to woman. Tim had taken her and her girlfriends out numerous times. And he was right—most of her dates had gone nuts over watching Arizona getting serviced by the dancers. Stripping and prostitution were outlawed on most Federation worlds and all Federation ships and starbases, but club proprietors got around those rules by using holographic entertainers. It wasn't against the law if the stripper or hooker was just a computer program, and they looked and felt like the real thing.

But over the past few years, naked holographic women had been losing their appeal for Arizona. She had found herself searching, unsuccessfully, for something more. She'd been growing up. And since meeting and falling in love with Callie, getting a quick fix in the back of a strip club was the last thing on Arizona's mind. More and more, she was finding herself consumed with thoughts of love, marriage, and family.

"Come on, Arizona," Tim continued to encourage her. "I'll even spring for a hooker. Callie will go absolutely insane watching that. Or you can have a threesome." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Timmy," Arizona protested. The thought of a threesome with Callie sickened her. She didn't want a threesome—she just wanted Callie. "I just…I just don't want to! Why don't we go rock climbing or sailing or something?"

"Can the boat have strippers?"

"Tim!"

"Fine, fine," Tim said, finally relenting.

"Thank you," Arizona said. "Can I go back to work now?"

"Sure," Tim said with a smile. "Who should I send invites out to?"

"Um…" Arizona thought for a moment. "Callie, Aria, Michael, Teddy, Henry, Mark—who will want to bring Lexie, Meredith—who will want to bring McDreamy…"

"Wait, Lt. Grey is dating Montgomery's ex-husband?"

"Yeah," Arizona said, rolling her eyes. She really didn't get what Meredith saw in Derek Shepherd, but she figured it wasn't any of her business. "And umm…Alex Karev. And he's dating some doctor…she can come, too. Oh, and I guess if we're inviting the rest of the senior staff, we should probably invite Burke and Yang too, just so they aren't left out."

"Ok," nodded Tim. "And uh…I kinda slept with one of the bartenders I met at McDreamy's last night. Jo something. Can I bring her?"

Arizona rolled her eyes. Of course Tim had slept with one of the bartenders. And she was pretty sure she knew which one Jo was. Arizona found her kind of annoying. "Sure, you can bring the slutty bartender."

"Alright, thanks sis!" Tim said with a smile. "Happy birthday, and I'll see you tonight!"

* * *

Callie walked into the holodeck and a smile instantly broke out onto her face. She was standing in gorgeous white sand, and two suns were beginning to set in the distance, transforming the sky into a beautiful canvas of pinks, oranges, and yellows. Before her was a pier that led to an absolutely massive yacht. She could see Arizona and Tim standing on the deck, making last minute alterations to the holodeck program.

Callie had initially been angry when she'd received a birthday party invitation from Tim because she hadn't even been aware it was Arizona's birthday. But Arizona had explained to her that she didn't usually celebrate her birthday and that Tim had insisted on the party. So Callie was trying to ignore her slightly hurt feelings and was determined to ensure that her girlfriend had an absolutely spectacular birthday.

"Hey guys!" Callie called cheerfully as she stepped onto the boat. Arizona's hair was down and wavy, and Callie could see the straps of Arizona's tiny blue bikini peeking out from underneath her sundress. Callie instantly made it her personal mission to get that sundress off of the blonde at some point during the night.

"Hey sweetie," Arizona said with a smile. She walked up to Callie and placed a peck on her cheek. "You're early."

"Well, I thought I'd come and see if you needed any help setting up."

"Hmm," Arizona said thoughtfully, looking around the deck of the yacht. "I think we're about ready."

There was a bar off to the side, staffed by a ridiculously voluptuous blonde hologram in a thong. Callie raised an eyebrow. She wondered who had chosen _that_ particular bartender—Tim or her girlfriend. Next to the bar were some holograms working the grill. It looked as though Tim and Arizona had gone for a tropical-themed menu. There were steak kabobs with grilled veggies and fruit, several different kinds of grilled fish, and numerous side dishes. Further down the deck, there was a small band playing some low-key beach music. To Callie, it looked like the makings of a very enjoyable and relaxing evening.

"Here you go, babe."

Callie turned to see Arizona holding up black raspberry-flavored margarita. "Oooh, thank you!" Callie said enthusiastically as she received the drink.

"What's up, party people!" Callie heard Mark call from behind her. She turned to see Mark, Lexie, Meredith, and Derek walking up the pier. Within a few minutes, the rest of their party guests had shown up and they were sailing out of the bay.

* * *

"So Meredith explains McDreamy, but what's his bartender girl doing here?" Teddy asked. She and Arizona were sitting on the bow of the ship, holding onto the railings behind them to make sure they didn't slip off.

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Timmy slept with her last night."

"Ah," Teddy acknowledged, taking another swig of her beer. "And have you seen Erica since last night?"

Arizona shook her head. Erica's ship wasn't due to leave for another day, but Callie's ex hadn't shown her face around the station after their confrontation at Joe's. Arizona wasn't sure if she was happy about that or not. On one hand, she was happy to just have Erica out of their lives, but on the other hand, Arizona found herself wanting to gloat a bit. Callie was hers. She'd won. Arizona knew that was probably a little immature, but she didn't really care. Claiming Callie Torres as her woman was something she felt like bragging about.

"Well I bet you're happy to have that over with," Teddy smiled.

Arizona started to nod, but then she and Teddy instantly whirled their head back towards the deck when they heard a woman scream in pain.

"HE'S MINE, YOU BITCH!"

Arizona's eyes widened as she saw Izzie Stevens, the doctor who had come with Alex Karev, yanking on the hair of Jo Wilson, Tim's date and Derek's bartender. Jo freed herself from Izzie's grasp and swung a punch at the tall blonde. The blow connected with Izzie's jaw, and she fell backwards and over the side of the boat with a splash.

Arizona and Teddy hopped over the railing of the bow and back onto the deck as Yang and Burke jumped in the water to rescue Izzie. Jo looked like she was about to jump in the water as well, eager to continue her assault on the doctor, but Karev quickly grabbed her and kept her on board with his strong Klingon arms.

"What is going on?" Arizona hissed in Callie's ears as she came up behind her girlfriend.

Callie turned slightly to look at Arizona and Teddy. "Apparently Karev and Stevens are in a relationship, but he's been sleeping with bartender Jo on the side."

_Ouch_, Arizona thought. She turned to look at her brother. He didn't really seem to look too distressed, so Arizona assumed his only interest in Jo was in having a casual fling. Arizona was torn between feeling slightly embarrassed for her brother and feeling highly amused because Tim's date was in a cat fight over another guy. She decided to go with the latter and walked over to where he was standing.

"Looks like you aren't getting laid tonight, huh, big brother?" Arizona teased.

"Oh shut up," Tim said with a smile. He went over to the side of the boat to help Burke, Yang, and Izzie back aboard.

Yang came up to speak to Arizona. "I apologize for departing from your social gathering early, Lt. Commander, but I have to get these two women to the security office."

"Yang," said Callie as she stepped over to join the conversation. "Is that really necessary?"

Yang turned towards her commanding officer. "Yes. Doctor Stevens assaulted a civilian and I need to take their statements."

"Yeah, but…" Callie paused, apparently not knowing how to deal with the Vulcan's strict sense of the law. "You don't need to worry about every time someone gets in a fight at a party."

Cristina Yang just blinked at Callie, clearly not understanding.

Callie turned to look towards Izzie and Jo. "Both of you okay with this going unreported? Jo, do you want to press charges?" Both of the women quickly shook their heads.

"Ignore it Yang," Callie said.

"But—" Yang started to object.

"That's an order, Yang."

Cristina looked like she might protest for a moment, but then she clasped her hands behind her back and inclined her head slightly. "Yes, ma'am."

Callie nodded her head at her security chief and, wrapping her arm around Arizona's naked waist, headed back towards the bow. Arizona was perfectly fine with Callie's apparent decision to let the others settle the dispute, and she leaned in to place a kiss on Callie's mouth as soon as they were seated.

"You having a good birthday?" Callie asked in between kisses.

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded. "Better now that I'm sucking your face off."

Callie chuckled and continued to kiss her girlfriend lovingly.

* * *

"You know, it's not very polite to ignore your party guests and make out in front of them."

Callie leaned back from Arizona's face to see her sister standing over them, a Pina Colada in her hands.

"Aria," Callie greeted. She still couldn't believe how amazing Aria's body looked in a bikini. She hoped she looked like that after having three kids. Arizona blushed and wiped her mouth off, clearly embarrassed that Aria had interrupted them.

"I'm gonna uh…" Arizona stuttered. "I'm gonna go get another drink." She quickly stood and scampered away from the two sisters.

"You're so mean," Callie said with a laugh.

"Hmm, I know," Aria said with a wink and a smirk. She sat down next to Callie where Arizona had been sitting moments before. "Nice party," Aria commented.

"Mm hmm."

Aria looked over at Callie. Callie could see her sister's mind churning. Aria clearly wanted to talk about something.

"Spit it out," Callie said, grabbing Aria's drink and taking a sip.

"How are…how are you two doing after last night?"

"Good," Callie answered. "Really good." It was the truth. Despite how painful seeing Erica again had been, Callie felt that Erica's arrival had been a catalyst in her relationship with Arizona. Before Erica had shown up, Callie and Arizona hadn't even verbally expressed their love for one another, and now they were already talking about marriage and children. Things were good.

Aria nodded thoughtfully, a smile creeping on her face.

"What?" Callie said.

"She's the one, isn't she?" Aria stated. The way she said it, it wasn't a question.

Callie's face broke out into a huge smile. She couldn't help it—smiling was a non-option when it came to her future with Arizona.

"I thought so," Aria said, taking her drink back from Callie and having some herself. "I'm happy for you, sis. She's wonderful."

"You think so?" Callie said. Aria's approval and acceptance of Arizona meant the world to her. She'd never had that with Erica.

"Yeah," Aria nodded. "Mom and Dad like her too."

Callie smiled and leaned forward to envelope her older sister in a hug. "Thanks, Aria. I love you."

"I love you, too."


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I can't say enough how much I appreciate all of your reviews. Thank you so much for them :) I had an especially fun time writing this chapter, so I hope you like it!**

* * *

Arizona stood nervously outside of the Santos family's quarters. She was normally never nervous to see Callie's family, but she'd also never seen them alone before. She and Callie were babysitting Gavin, Troy, and Hailey overnight, but Callie had been pulled into some emergency meetings and had no clue when she'd be done. Arizona hoped it wasn't anything serious. The fleet had left to go on the offensive against the Scarrans about a month earlier, and so far, the war was going very well. But Arizona knew that Tim and Admiral Kyoto were in the same meetings Callie was, which wasn't a good sign.

Regardless, Arizona was soon to be alone with three young children. Children that were very important to her girlfriend and needed to still be alive and unharmed upon Callie's arrival. And that made her nervous.

The door slid open as somebody inside granted her entrance.

"Hey Arizona, come in!" she heard Michael's voice call out. He was serving Gavin and Troy their dinner at the table, but Aria and Hailey were out of sight.

"We're just running a bit behind schedule," Michael said. "We've never been gone overnight before, and Hailey's throwing a bit of a fit."

Arizona pouted in sympathy for Callie's little niece as she grabbed a seat at the table next to Troy. She gave the boy a gentle pat on the head, and he looked over to smile at her.

"Can I offer you some dinner?" Michael asked, holding up the stew he had just finished giving his boys.

"Oh, no thanks," Arizona smiled. "I ate before I came over."

"K," Michael said as he walked into the kitchen area and put the stew back in the replicator. "The boys still have a little bit of homework that needs to be finished before you take them to school tomorrow. Gavin might need some help with his math."

Arizona nodded in acknowledgement. She hadn't ever helped anyone with their homework before, but seeing as how she'd majored in astrophysics at the academy, she wasn't too concerned about an 11-year-old's math homework.

"The kids are free to replicate dessert if they want some, but Hailey's refused to eat dinner so far. Make sure she eats something healthy before she has dessert. I don't think she'll give you sass, but if she does, just give her a time out or make her go to bed early. We don't really spank them unless they hit each other."

Arizona's eyes widened. She would never dream of spanking Hailey, no matter what she did. Arizona's parents had never laid a finger on her.

"Umm, I think that's about it," Michael continued. "Oh! If you and Callie…you know…" Michael trailed off as he made a crude gesture. Arizona blushed furiously. "I'd recommend putting your pajamas back on, because sometimes Hailey or Troy come in if they've had a bad dream."

Arizona nodded and swallowed hard. She hadn't been planning on having sex with Callie in her sister's bed. This was certainly the most awkward conversation she'd ever had with Michael.

"Ok, I'm ready to go," Aria called as she entered the room. "Oh, hi Arizona."

"Hey Aria," Arizona said as she smiled at Callie's sister. "Is Hailey okay?" she added when she realized the little girl hadn't followed her mother into the living area.

"Oh, she's pouting and crying with the best of them," Aria said with a frustrated look. "She'll get over it. Thanks again for babysitting—hopefully you aren't alone with them too long."

Arizona smiled awkwardly and started playing with her hands. She wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. Callie had told her a month ago that Aria approved of their relationship, but apparently she didn't trust Arizona with her kids.

"Oh! No, no, no," Aria said. "I didn't mean it like that! I meant for your sake…you'd have more fun if Callie was here. I'm absolutely not worried about you being alone with my children."

_That makes one of us_, Arizona commented to herself as she nodded to Aria in understanding.

"Ok, ready?" Aria said to her husband. He nodded excitedly in response. The couple was due for a two-night getaway to the planet below to celebrate their anniversary. Callie and Arizona were watching the kids the first night, and Carlos and Lucia would be taking them the second.

"Bye, babies!" Aria cooed as she gave each of her sons a kiss on the cheek. Gavin gave his mother a reproachful look and wiped his cheek clean as soon as Aria turned her back towards him. Arizona smirked at his response.

"Be good!" Michael called as the door slid closed.

And then Arizona was all alone, in Michael and Aria's quarters, with their three children. Perfect.

* * *

Callie looked down at her portable computer as a light blinked, indicating she had a message.

_When are you going to get here? I need help!_ read the message from Arizona.

Callie frowned at the message. Arizona had only been at Aria's for about an hour. How much trouble could she be in?

_I don't know, I'm still in a meeting. What's wrong?_ she quickly replied.

_Hailey is being a nightmare! She won't eat dinner, she keeps insisting that I'm "not her mother" and that I "can't tell her what to do." I told her to go to her room, and she just said "no". And she messed up the puzzle that Troy was working on, and when Gavin wouldn't switch the Parisses Squares match to some other program she wanted to watch, she punched him! I don't know what to do!_

Callie raised her eyebrows involuntarily. It sounded like Hailey was being just as much of a holy terror as Callie had been as a little girl. _Poor thing_, Callie thought about her niece. Callie had always thought it was hard to be five years old.

"Everyone, would it be alright if I stepped out for a few moments?" she said, addressing the other officers in the meeting. When she received several nods, she quietly exited the conference room and headed for her sister's quarters. Hailey had a lot of Callie in her, which meant Arizona was in over her head.

* * *

Arizona saw the look on Hailey's face turn from defiance to horror as the door to the Santos' quarter slid open. Arizona whirled around, and felt instantly relieved to see her girlfriend walking towards her.

"Hailey Alexis Santos, you get in your room _right_ now," Callie said in a loud voice, her angry momma—or in this case, angry auntie—look adorning her face. Hailey immediately jumped from the couch and ran down the hallway that led to her bedroom.

"How—how did you get her to do that?" Arizona asked. She'd been trying to get Hailey to go to her room for the past thirty minutes.

Callie just shrugged. "Hey Gav, hey Troy," Callie nodded to her nephews as she reached Arizona and wrapped her arms around her. "You okay?" Callie murmured.

Arizona nodded her head weakly. She felt like crying. Her relationship with Hailey was usually so easy. Hailey was always happy to see her Auntie Arizona, excited to play with her and tell her all about her day. But tonight, Hailey had been unusually grumpy, and she didn't recognize Arizona's authority whatsoever.

"Come on," Callie said quietly, grabbing Arizona's hand and tugging her towards Hailey's room. Hailey was huddled on the far corner of her bed, and her eyes widened in fear as Callie and Arizona entered the room.

"Hailey," Callie started. She wasn't yelling, but her voice was angry and firm. "I know that you're used to your grandparents or me watching you when your parents are gone, but Arizona is an adult, and she is in charge of you. Do you understand?"

Hailey just huffed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"I asked you a question, young lady."

Hailey glared across the room at Arizona. Between Callie's angry auntie act and Hailey's glare, Arizona found herself wishing she was back in the living room with the boys—Torres women could be intense.

"Hey!" Callie said, reaching over Hailey's bed and dragging her roughly out of the corner. She got right in the little girl's face. "When I ask you a question, you answer me. And you do _not_ look at Arizona like that. She is an adult, you are a child, and you will respect her."

"You're supposed to be my friend!" Hailey growled at Arizona, hurt pouring out of her eyes.

Arizona's eyes softened. Was _that_ what this was about? Hailey was used to just playing with Arizona, and was confused by suddenly being expected to obey her?

"Hailey," Arizona said sympathetically, stepping towards the little girl.

Callie quickly turned towards Arizona and held a hand up, stopping Arizona in her tracks. Callie's eyes said "back off, I've got this."

Arizona nodded uncertainly and gave Callie some space.

"Hailey, Arizona _is_ your friend. But she's also a grown-up, and she knows best. You have to obey her."

"I don't wanna!" Hailey complained, yanking her arm out of her aunt's hand and scampering back into the corner.

Callie rolled her eyes. "Hailey, you can either give Arizona the respect she deserves and obey her when she tells you to do something, or you can sit in your room all night and rot. What's it gonna be?"

Hailey just pouted and didn't answer.

"Ok, good night then, Hails. See you tomorrow." Callie headed for the hallway and nodded for Arizona to follow.

"Callie, it's only 6:30," Arizona said once Hailey's door was closed. "She can't just stay in there all night."

Callie just smirked at Arizona. "She won't."

"What?" Arizona felt absolutely clueless.

"That girl," Callie said, pointing a finger at Hailey's door, "is me when I was 5 years old. Give her 20 minutes. She'll come out and grovel."

Arizona felt incredibly uncertain, but she just nodded at Callie. It was worth a try.

"I've gotta get back," Callie said. "You gonna be okay?"

"Sure," Arizona nodded, trying to sound confident.

"K," Callie smiled, giving Arizona a quick kiss. "Be back as soon as I can."

* * *

Arizona sighed as she leaned back against the couch, and glanced over at the girl seated beside her. Sure enough, Hailey Santos had walked back into the living room about 20 minutes after Callie had left, and she had been an entirely different girl. She'd apologized profusely to her brothers and Arizona, asked politely for her dinner, and she was now happily watching a video about a space-travelling unicorn.

Arizona felt like a failure. She'd been at her wits end trying to figure out what to do, and then Callie had just waltzed in, waved the magic parenting wand, and everything was perfect. Arizona didn't understand how she did it, and it was making her feel incredibly inadequate.

Arizona was used to being _good_ at things. She'd always excelled. At academics, at athletics, at flying starships, at picking up women, at being an officer. But tonight, she'd been bested by a cranky five-year-old. It made Arizona seriously question her ability to be a parent.

"Auntie Arizona?" Hailey asked out of the blue, looking up from her unicorn video. "What's sex mean?"

Arizona's eyes bulged out of her head. This could not be happening—she had just gotten things under control. Hailey was finally behaving herself, Gavin was now sailing through his math homework after a little help, and Troy was still happily working on his puzzle. And now she was supposed to explain sex to a five-year-old? Was she even _allowed_ to explain sex to a five-year-old?

"Hailey," Arizona started nervously. "Sweetheart, where did you hear that word?"

"Mommy said it earlier. She and daddy were packing and Mommy said she couldn't wait to rip his clothes off and have lots and lots of sex."

Arizona closed her eyes and shook her head. She really didn't need _that_ particular image stuck in her mind.

"Well, Hailey, I think that's a question you should ask your mom when she gets home," Arizona said, trying to avoid the issue.

Gavin, however, apparently disagreed with Arizona's conclusion that the conversation needed to end. He looked up from the table where he'd been working and said, "Hailey, sex is when you touch someone else's private parts."

Arizona just blinked, not knowing how to handle this situation now that Gavin was involved. The very introverted Troy was thankfully still working on his puzzle, and didn't appear to be paying any attention.

Hailey frowned in confusion at her brother's statement. She turned to Arizona, looking for an explanation. "But Mommy and Daddy told me no one's allowed to touch my private parts except for the doctor."

"Yeah, that's when you're a kid," Gavin explained matter-of-factly. "When you grow up, you get to touch other people's private parts."

"Umm…." Arizona interjected, not quite agreeing with Gavin's idea that being an adult gave you a license to randomly touch people's genitals.

"But why does Mommy _want_ to touch Daddy's private parts?" Hailey asked Gavin directly this time, apparently having concluded that her aunt's girlfriend didn't know much on the subject.

Gavin gave a slight shrug. "I think it's supposed to feel good."

Hailey considered that for a moment before looking back up at Arizona. "Auntie Arizona, does Auntie Callie touch your private parts?"

Arizona blushed. That was one way to put it. "Well…uhh…" Arizona stuttered. This conversation was so beyond being out of her control.

"And why do you have to rip your clothes off?"

Arizona suddenly popped off the couch. "Hey guys, you want to replicate dessert now?" she asked, a little too enthusiastically.

"If my clothes are ripped, Mommy makes me put them back in the replicator," Hailey continued, confused.

Gavin shrugged in response to his sister's question. Apparently, clothes-ripping hadn't been covered in his sex-ed class.

"What do you guys want?" Arizona asked, standing next to the replicator and eager to distract the children. "Ice cream? Cookies?"

"I would like Caramel Pecan Turtle cheesecake, please," Troy said softly, not looking up from his puzzle.

Arizona raised her eyebrows at his very specific request. Troy was certainly an unusual eight-year-old. He rarely spoke—in fact, Arizona was certain this was the first time he'd opened his mouth all evening. Michael and Aria had had him tested when he was younger. He wasn't delayed—he was actually the most gifted of their three children—and he didn't have a social disorder. He just preferred not to talk.

"Why do Mommy and Daddy have to go on vacation in order to touch each other's private parts?" Hailey asked Gavin.

"And Hailey, what would you like for dessert?" Arizona asked before Gavin could answer. Gavin and Hailey seemed far more interested in continuing their conversation than having sweets, which left Arizona feeling flustered. Weren't children supposed to completely forget about everything when there were cookies being offered?

"Chocolate chip cookies, I guess," Hailey said as Arizona heard the door slide open.

A cheerful-looking Callie strolled into the Santos quarters. "Hey guys," she said with a broad smile. "What are we up to?"

"Arizona, Gavin, and Hailey are talking about touching people's private parts," Troy said without looking up. "And I'm doing a puzzle."

Callie stopped short and sent Arizona a questioning look. Arizona just pouted and sank back, dejectedly, against the wall next to the replicator. She sucked at this.

* * *

"Arizona," Callie said with a chuckle, "I promise Aria won't be mad."

"She's gonna think I'm trying to corrupt her children!" Arizona whined.

"No, she's not!"

Arizona just scrunched up her face in disbelief and slid under the covers, her back propped up against the pillows. "I'm awful at this, Callie. I had no idea what I was doing the entire night."

Callie smirked to herself as she finished taking off her makeup and joined Arizona in bed. "Babe, those three can be a lot to handle. You did just fine."

"No, I didn't!" Arizona insisted. "I had to have you come and rescue me when Hailey was acting out, and then I let your 11-year-old nephew incorrectly explain sex to your 5-year old niece!"

Callie put a comforting arm around Arizona. Callie had grown up around younger children, and she'd been very involved in Aria's kids' lives. Callie had been in the delivery room with Aria and Michael for all three births, and she had spent countless hours babysitting. She knew Arizona didn't have nearly as much experience.

"I'm gonna be a terrible mother," Arizona sulked.

"No you're not," Callie said. "Besides, I'll be there to help you. You're gonna be a great mom."

"You think so?" Arizona asked. The uncertainty on her face was boring on comical.

"I know so," Callie said, cupping Arizona's cheek with one of her hands. "Our kids are gonna be amazing."

"And you're sure you really want kids with _me_?"

Callie considered Arizona's insecure posture for a moment before scooping Arizona up and pulling her into her lap. She leaned in, kissing Arizona firmly on the mouth and stroking her golden hair. "I love you, Arizona," she said, resting her forehead on Arizona's. "And I would love nothing more than to marry you and have children with you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and our babies. Okay?"

Arizona nodded gently. "Okay."

"Good," Callie said with a smile before resuming their kiss. She slowly lowered them to the bed so they were lying down instead of sitting. Placing some of her weight on Arizona, she deepened the kiss and snaked her tongue into Arizona's mouth.

Suddenly, with no warning, Arizona pushed Callie off of her and jerked away.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Callie asked.

"Callie, I cannot have sex with you in Michael and Aria's bed," Arizona blurted out.

"Um, raise your hand if ewww?" Callie said, teasingly raising her hand. She had just been planning on making out. There was no way she was having sex in her sister's bed, with her three children down the hall. "I'm gonna have trouble just _sleeping_ in this bed knowing that Aria and Michael get it on in here. You think I wanna do it in their bed and be scarred for life?"

"Well, Michael kinda implied that he thought we would," Arizona said, her nose scrunching in disgust.

"He what?" Callie asked with a laugh.

"When I got here, he was telling me how the kids might come in here if they have a nightmare, so we should put our clothes back on after we were done having sex."

"No way!" Callie exclaimed.

"I'm serious!" Arizona said.

"Ugh, I do not need my brother thinking about you naked."

"Callie, he wasn't perving."

"Uh huh," Callie teased. She knew her brother-in-law, and knew that her sex life with Arizona was the last thing on his mind. But her girlfriend didn't need to know that. "That's what _you_ think."

Arizona paused for a moment to let Callie's words sink in. "Ew!" She shook her head, apparently trying to remove the thought from her head.

Callie laughed and snuggled closer to Arizona. "Night, Arizona," she said as she placed a quick kiss on Arizona's cheek. "I love you."

"Mmm, goodnight baby."

* * *

Arizona lay still for several minutes in Callie's arms. She had a lot on her mind, and she was having a hard time settling down. From Callie's breathing patterns, she could tell that her girlfriend wasn't asleep either. Arizona had a lot that she wanted to talk to Callie about, and their conversation about children earlier that night had intensified her desire to talk, but she was afraid of how Callie would react.

"Arizona?" she heard Callie murmur from behind her, her voice barely a whisper.

"Hmm?"

"You're really tense, baby," Callie said as she began stroking Arizona's arm and shoulder. "You have something on your mind?"

Arizona opened her mouth to say something. She really wanted to say something. But she was just too afraid.

"No," Arizona brushed her off. "Just a long day."

"Ok," Callie said softly. Arizona could hear the disappointment in her girlfriend's voice. She knew that Callie knew that something was bothering her—Callie was so good at reading her. Of course she knew that Arizona's tension wasn't due to a long day. But Callie was also good at giving Arizona space and not pushing things if Arizona didn't want to talk.

Except that Arizona really _did_ want to talk. She tried to relax as Callie continued to lightly stroke her back. Normally, Callie's ministrations would put her right to sleep. However, it wasn't working, and Arizona didn't think it would until she got things off her chest.

"Callie?" she called out into the darkened bedroom.

"Hmm?"

"What's our timeline?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been dating for almost half a year now, and we keep talking about getting married and having kids, and I was just wondering what the timeline was. I mean, do you wanna make Captain first? Or…?"

"Arizona, look at me sweetheart," Callie said softly.

Arizona turned around in Callie's arms so she was facing her girlfriend. Callie leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Arizona's mouth.

"I don't…" Callie shrugged. "I don't have a specific timeline. All I know is that I love you and want to spend my life with you. Why, what do you think?"

"I guess I just…I don't know what we're waiting for," Arizona said softly. She saw Callie's eyes widen slightly and she began to panic. This was what she was afraid of. "I, I mean we don't have to rush, if you're not ready or you're not sure or—"

"Arizona, Arizona," Callie placed a calming hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "It's fine. I'm not upset."

"Ok," Arizona nodded, trying to breathe normally. Callie just caressed her hair for a few moments, helping her to settle back down.

"I'm taking this as you saying that you want to move faster?" Callie asked gently, calmly.

"Well…" Arizona trailed off. She _did_ want to move faster. She knew she loved Callie, and she was anxious to start the "rest of her life" part of her life. What was the point in dragging it out if she already knew all that she needed to?

"Arizona?" Callie asked quietly.

Arizona swallowed hard and lowered her eyes so she didn't have to look into Callie's. _Here goes nothing._ "Ye—yes. Yes, I…I want to move faster." A few seconds later, she felt Callie's fingers under her chin, encouraging her to reestablish eye contact. She hesitantly looked back in Callie's eyes and saw nothing but love and understanding there.

"Are you saying that you…you wanna get engaged?" Callie said. Again, Callie's voice was soft and even.

Arizona felt her heart start to race. "Ye—yes," she stuttered out.

"Okay," Callie said with a nod. Callie paused for a moment and smiled. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Arizona," she said, "will you marry me?"

Arizona let out a soft gasp. Was Callie _proposing_ to her? _Now_? "Are you…are you…_asking me_ asking me?" Arizona said with uncertainty.

Callie laughed gently. "Yes, Arizona, I'm _asking you_ asking you." She moved her hand from under Arizona's chin and softly caressed Arizona's hair and face. "Will you be my wife?"

Arizona's entire face turned into a wide smile. She couldn't believe this was happening. Callie Torres was…was asking her to marry her. "Yes, Calliope," Arizona replied simply. "Yes, I would love to be your wife."

Callie smiled in response. Leaning forward, she placed the softest of kisses on Arizona's mouth. "Good."

* * *

**AN: My boyfriend said I should end this chapter with "And then Callie and Arizona grabbed each other's boobs"…but I thought that would ruin the mood I was going for ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

"Oooh, I am liking this one so far," Arizona said as she plopped down on the couch next to Callie. Two weeks had passed since they'd gotten engaged, and during that time, she and Callie had spent a lot of time designing engagement rings. They'd come close to a final decision several times, but each time something had been "off" and they'd started over.

"Yeah…" Callie said with a cringe as she held the PADD closer to Arizona. "I think it might be too big for your fingers though. You have dainty hands, and this might look gaudy."

"Computer," Arizona said as she stood back up, "replicate the ring on Callie's PADD." The lights of the replicator turned on and the ring had materialized by the time Arizona reached the replicator. Grabbing the ring, she slid it on her finger as she headed back to the couch. "What do you think?" she asked, holding out her hand for Callie to see.

Callie glanced from the PADD and over to Arizona's hand. "Gaudy."

Arizona made a face and pulled the ring off of her finger. "What about on you?"

Callie held out her hand for Arizona to slip the ring onto it. Over the past several days, Arizona had put numerous rings on Callie's finger, and she couldn't get enough of it. She felt little butterflies in her stomach each and every time. After she had slid the ring onto Callie's finger, Arizona leaned down to place a gentle kiss on it.

Callie scoffed and rolled her eyes at Arizona's romantic gesture. She apparently didn't find this nearly as fun as her fiancée did, and she had told Arizona as much.

"It looks _amazing_ on you!" Arizona smiled, but then pouted. "Why can't it look that good on me?"

"Cuz I have man hands and you have fairy princess hands," Callie replied.

"You do not have _man hands_," Arizona protested, grabbing Callie's hand again and massaging it. "You have strong, powerful hands, and I love them." She smiled and kissed Callie's hand again.

"Arizona, we're never going to find a ring that looks good on _both_ of us," Callie complained. "I don't know why you insist on us having matching rings."

"Because it's romantic!" Arizona implored. "They symbolize how our hearts are a perfect match for each other."

Callie just stared at Arizona, unimpressed. "You're gonna make me hurl, babe."

Arizona tsk'd unapprovingly as she rolled her eyes. Callie was being a pain in the butt.

"So how soon until they get here?" Arizona asked. If Callie insisted on being unenthusiastic about designing their rings, then she might as well change the subject.

Callie looked over at the clock on the wall. "They should actually be here any minute," she replied. "You better recycle this." She took off the ring and gave it to Arizona to place back in the replicator. They hadn't yet shared the news of their engagement with anyone—that was the purpose of tonight. Callie had ordered a gourmet dinner from the mess, and the entire Torres clan plus Timothy Robbins were due to arrive shortly. Arizona had plans to tell Teddy and Callie had plans to tell Mark just as soon as their immediate family was filled in on the news.

The only hitch in the plan was Arizona's parents. She had of course told her parents about Callie, but she hadn't let on about how serious things were. It wasn't that her parents were unloving or uninterested in her personal life—Arizona considered herself to have a close relationship with her parents. But in general, their conversations stayed on topics like her career in Starfleet, Academy sports, and the political happenings of the Alpha Quadrant. Who she was dating at the moment just wasn't a topic of high priority to them—they figured if she had something important to say on the matter, she'd say it.

But the few times Arizona had tried to talk about Callie, Admirals Daniel and Barbara Robbins had expressed some concern over Arizona dating her commanding officer. Both of her parents were Starfleet officers, so they both knew of the perils of relationships between commanding officers and their subordinates. They'd warned Arizona not to get too serious about this Commander Torres, because it might have negative consequences for her career.

So, as it turned out, Arizona had simply stopped talking about Callie instead of having to listen to her parents' warnings and advice to break it off. She'd never introduced Callie to them, and she hadn't mentioned her to them for at least two months. So she really didn't know how to call them up out of the blue and inform them that she was marrying that commanding officer that they'd told her to break up with.

"Oh, that must be them," Callie said as the door chimed inside the quarters. Arizona quickly placed the ring back in the replicator and hit the recycle button. They didn't need their surprise being spoiled by having an engagement ring lying around. "Enter," Callie called as she stood from the couch.

* * *

"So how is the Federation offensive going, sweetheart?" Lucia Torres asked before taking another bite of her swordfish.

"Um…fine, Mama," Callie said, confused as to why her mother had asked. Callie's mom almost exclusively asked questions about family, fashion, and celebrity gossip.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucia asked when she saw the shocked look on her daughter's face.

"Nothing," Callie said. "I just didn't know you were interested in it." Callie paused to take a sip of her wine. "We've won most of the encounters so far, but we also don't think that the Scarran fleet is at full strength yet. We've lost 187 people and 4 ships, and we estimate their losses at about twice that."

A solemn tone fell upon the dinner table. Callie, Arizona, and Tim, being members of Starfleet themselves, felt the loss of Starfleet officers most acutely, but Callie's family was also sensitive to the topic. They knew that had Callie been given a different posting, their daughter, sister, and aunt could have easily been one of those 187.

After a few moments, Michael cleared his throat and tried to lighten the mood. "This dinner is amazing, Callie. Please send my compliments to your staff in the mess."

Callie smiled and nodded at her brother-in-law.

"Yes, Calliope," Carlos chimed in. "It's excellent. Is there a special occasion we are celebrating, or are we just enjoying a nice family dinner?"

"Well…" Callie trailed off, turning to look at Arizona. Arizona smiled as she stared into Callie's eyes and slid her hand into Callie's. Arizona nodded almost imperceptibly, telling Callie to go ahead. Callie smiled in response. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face the rest of the table. "We actually do have some news."

The solemn atmosphere at the table turned to one of hesitant excitement, as Tim and the members of Callie's family looked around at each other anxiously, wondering if anyone else knew what Callie was about to announce.

"Everyone," Callie began. "Arizona has graciously agreed to be my bride." As the table exploded in gasps of shock and joy, Callie turned back to look at Arizona. Arizona's smile was radiant, and Callie placed a kiss on Arizona's hand, never breaking eye contact with her fiancée. "I love you," she mouthed silently to Arizona.

"I love you, too," Arizona mouthed back.

And then suddenly Callie was being lifted out of her chair and into a bone-crushing hug from Lucia and Aria. Tim was still sitting, too shocked to get up and hug his little sister. However, the ever-quiet Troy surprised everyone by excitedly getting out of his chair and flinging his arms around Arizona.

"I love you, Auntie Arizona," he said quietly.

Arizona looked like she was about to melt from the sweetness of the little boy in her arms. "I love you too, Troy," she said as her smile grew wider. She placed a light kiss on the top of his head. "I'm so glad I get to have you as a nephew."

The next few minutes were filled with everyone getting their turn to hug the happy couple. Carlos was on the verge of tears as he officially welcomed Arizona into his family, whereas Hailey's main concern was that she got to be the flower girl at their wedding.

"Oh yes, dears, when are you planning on having the ceremony?" Lucia asked.

"Umm, we haven't really gotten that far, Mama," Callie said, hoping to postpone the conversation about wedding planning that she knew was inevitable.

"Well we should pick a date so I can start planning!" Lucia said excitedly.

"Mama, you don't really have to do that," Callie said with a plastered-on smile. She was sure wedding planning with Lucia Torres was the definition of hell itself.

"Nonsense!" Lucia brushed Callie off. "I practically planned Aria's entire wedding! And it was _beautiful_, as I'm sure you remember."

"Just go with it," Aria said to Callie under her breath. "Fighting her takes up too much energy. Trust me, I tried."

Callie was about to ignore her sister's advice and insist that her mother stay out of it when the door chimed, indicating she had a visitor. "Who is it?" she asked the computer.

A few moments later, the computer replied, "Lieutenant Junior Grade Meredith Grey."

Callie frowned to herself. She and Meredith didn't hang out very much on a personal level, and if Meredith had needed her for a professional reason, she would have simply called her. The fact that Meredith had dropped by her quarters was highly unusual.

"Enter," Callie called. She stepped into the doorway between the dining room and the living room to see what Meredith wanted.

Meredith stepped into the quarters and stood at attention. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you off duty, ma'am, but I need you to come to Command right away."

"Why didn't you just use the comms, Grey?" Callie asked her science officer.

Meredith stood silent for a second before she responded. "Commander, I've detected a cloaked ship just outside the station, and I don't know if they've hacked into our comms systems or not. I didn't want to ask Lexie to look or contact you on the comms because that could tip them off."

Callie's mouth fell open. A cloaked ship could only indicate two things: an ambush, which would be unlikely and, given the _Seattle_'s defense systems, not very threatening; or intelligence gathering, which could prove to be very, very bad for the Federation.

"Arizona, Tim," Callie called behind her. "Command. Now."

* * *

Arizona stood quietly at her station as Meredith Grey explained how she had detected the cloaked ship to everyone in Command. All of Callie's senior officers, as well as Admiral Kyoto and his staff, were gathered in the command center, and the atmosphere was intense. Everyone was on high alert.

"A few days ago," Meredith was saying, "I detected some anomalous sensor readings. At first it looked like a random glitch, but then I started to notice a pattern in it. It's been bouncing around and mutating, but I finally cracked it." She pulled up a diagram of the _Seattle_ and the surrounding space. "From what I can tell, there is a ship sitting right here. And I can't get a great read, but it does match what we know about Scarran vessels."

"How big is the ship?" Callie asked. "Estimated crew complement?"

Meredith shook her head. "I, I can't be sure, but I'd estimate a crew between 25 and 40."

Callie nodded, and Arizona watched as her commanding officer began to pace around the room. "Can you tell if any of our systems have been compromised?"

"I came to inform you as soon as I was sure I had something, ma'am," Meredith replied. "If you give me several hours, I should be able to determine that. But if they _have_ compromised our systems, then they might notice me poking around. As of now, I don't think they know we've detected them. But that could change."

Callie nodded and continued to pace. Arizona couldn't help but feel a growing sense of excitement. The situation was serious, but it was also potentially good. Thus far in the war, the Federation had yet to disable and board a Scarran ship. If the _Seattle_ could knock out the Scarrans' weapons and engines, and then board the ship, the boon to the Federation could be vast. Starfleet would be able to determine what, if any information, the Scarrans had been able to steal, and adjust their plans accordingly. They'd also be able to access the Scarran ship's databases, interrogate the Scarran crew, and learn a great amount of information about Scarran weapons, tactics, and physiology.

On the other hand, Arizona couldn't help but feel a growing sense of dread. She was the first officer. If they boarded the ship, _she_ would have to lead the mission. Arizona had been in several combat situations throughout her career, and it was always frightening. But the Scarrans were a new, unknown enemy, and the Federation had yet to engage them on foot. She'd be leading a mission where the crew didn't know what to expect. No member of Starfleet had actually _seen_ a Scarran. The Delvians had pictures of them, but they'd refused to share them with the Federation in an attempt to remain absolutely neutral in this conflict.

Not to mention that _this_ was the primary reason why commanding officers shouldn't date their subordinates. _This_ was why Arizona's parents didn't want her dating Callie. Arizona knew that sending a boarding party to the Scarran ship was the best option. It may cost several Federation lives in the short run, but it could save thousands of Federation lives in the long run. But she seriously doubted whether Callie would have the presence of mind to send her into combat. If their positions were reversed, Arizona didn't think she'd be able to order Callie into danger.

As much as Arizona didn't want to have to lead a mission, she knew that Callie had it worse. Being in danger was hard, but ordering your crew into danger? That was horrific. Arizona could still recall in vivid detail every time she had ordered her officers into combat. The first time an officer had died following her orders, Arizona had contemplated quitting Starfleet. She remembered the 19-year old crewman taking a shot to the head. She remembered him dropping his phaser and falling to the ground. She remembered recovering his body once the fighting had ended, and she remembered loading his lifeless form into the shuttle. She remembered calling his parents that evening to inform them that they no longer had a son. She knew she'd always remember it.

"Ok," Callie said as she stopped pacing. "Say we do board the ship. Stunning enemies and taking them captive is a lot more dangerous than killing them outright."

"Yes, but the amount of information we could gather from interrogating them could prove invaluable to the war effort," Admiral Kyoto said.

Callie sighed. "Yang? Any estimates on how much harder it would be to take captives? How much higher our casualties would be?"

"Not having many details on Scarran weapons, physiology, and the size of their crew," Cristina said, "It is exceedingly difficult to estimate. However, Starfleet statistically takes 25 percent higher casualties in situations where we take captives. Given that the Scarrans are an unknown, I would roughly estimate 40 percent higher."

Callie closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Arizona could tell how conflicted her fiancée was. Stunning the Scarrans and taking prisoners was the right decision, the rational decision. It was the decision a Vulcan commanding officer would make without thinking twice. But real Starfleet officers were likely to lose their lives on this mission, and for humans, it was always difficult to justify saving theoretical lives in the face of losing real ones. Arizona knew that Callie knew that taking prisoners was the right options, but she also knew it was an impossible situation. Given the choice between leading the mission and authorizing the mission, Arizona would choose leading the mission every single time.

"Admiral?" Callie said, turning to Kyoto.

The older man sighed. "From a strategy and intelligence perspective, I have to recommend taking prisoners, Commander. But the choice is yours, and God knows I don't envy you."

Callie continued to pace for several moments before she came to a stop and leaned on the railing in front of the Command center's viewscreen. "Ok," she breathed out. "Do it. Take prisoners."

Arizona closed her eyes and swallowed. Callie had made the right decision, the rational decision. She was once again proud of her fiancée's constant professionalism, her ability to remain calm in a crisis. Callie Torres truly was an outstanding Commander.

Arizona took a deep breath and stepped down from her station. This was it. She and Yang had a team to assemble. She flashed a look towards Callie, but Callie wasn't looking at her. Maybe that was for the best. If they didn't say goodbye, that meant that Arizona was coming back. Maybe that made things a little easier. Turning away from Callie, she started to follow Yang out of Command.

"Arizona?" she heard Callie call out to her when she and Cristina had almost reached the turbolift. Arizona turned to face her commanding officer.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Where…where are you going?"

Arizona's eyes widened slightly at the shocked look on Callie's face. _Oh no_, Arizona thought to herself. This entire time, Callie hadn't realized that she was ordering _Arizona_ into combat. Callie had issued the orders only thinking that she was sending nameless members of the crew in.

"Yang and I need to form our boarding party, Commander," Arizona said, trying to be calm and confident for her fiancée. Callie was starting to shake.

"What? No, no, you ca—you can't!" Callie said, looking terrified. Arizona felt her heart breaking for Callie. She couldn't imagine the horror that was descending on her fiancée at that moment. If it was Arizona who had to order Callie into combat, she…well she just couldn't fathom it.

Arizona walked over to Callie and gently pulled her aside. The rest of the officers in the room looked away, trying to give them some privacy. "Callie," Arizona said quietly. "I'm the first officer. It's my duty to lead missions like this."

"No, no," Callie shook her head. "Arizona, I can't…you can't…"

"Callie," Arizona rested her hand on her fiancée's cheek. "You have to let me do this. Okay? We, we can't be _us_ right now. We have to be Starfleet officers. You can't…we can't let our personal feelings get in the way. There are potentially thousands, hundreds of thousands, of Federation lives at stake here."

"I don't care about Federation lives," Callie said, wiping her eyes and shaking her head. "I care about _your_ life."

"Sweetheart," Arizona sighed. "You don't mean that. You're emotional right now, but you _do_ care about this war. You do. Just let me go. Let me do my job."

"No," Callie said, her voice quivering.

"Callie," Arizona said, leaning forward to nuzzle Callie's neck. "If you don't let me go, your ability to be in command is going to be called into question."

"I don't care," Callie replied quickly, holding Arizona closely against her. "I don't care."

Arizona swallowed hard. "Yes, you do. And if you don't let me go, I'm obligated to invoke the regs and remove you from command. As first officer, I _have_ to do that if your emotions are clouding your judgment as commanding officer."

Callie's eyes immediately turned from fear to anger. Arizona knew it was a low blow, but she told herself it was for the best. If Callie couldn't order her first officer into combat, it could spell the end of Callie's career. At the very least, one of them would be transferred so that they were no longer in the other's chain of command.

"Callie," Arizona continued. "I love you. But I have to go now. I'll see you on the flip side." With that, she placed both of her hands on Callie's cheeks and pulled her in for a tender, passionate kiss. She could feel Callie's tears streaming down Callie's cheeks and onto her own. "Goodbye, Calliope," she said quietly once they had pulled apart. "I love you." Then quickly, before Callie could respond or try to stop her, she headed for the turbolift and exited Command with Cristina Yang. She had a job to do.

* * *

Commander Callie Torres, Admiral Hiroki Kyoto, and the rest of their senior staffs held their breath as they watched the mission progress on the viewscreen in Command. Things were off to a good start. Well, as good as could be expected given that the away team was going into the unknown. Meredith and Burke had worked out a plan to knock out the Scarran vessel's weapons, shields, and engines simultaneously with the _Seattle_'s main guns, and Arizona's team had beamed aboard moments later. Each member of the boarding party had a camera attached to his or her helmet, so Callie and her officers could see everything that was going on.

While the others in Command looked from display to display, Callie found her eyes glued to the display coming from the feed of Ensign Karev, who was directly behind Arizona. Her heart was caught somewhere in her throat, and she could hardly breathe as she watched her fiancée treading carefully through the Scarran vessel, covered from head to toe in Federation battle armor, a phaser compression rifle at the ready.

Arizona was still relatively unharmed. She was quick on her feet and proved to be good at dodging or rolling out of the way from incoming fire. Callie had seen a stray Scarran laser partially impact Arizona's arm a few minutes prior. Arizona's armor had absorbed the impact and Callie knew her fiancée was alright, but she could only imagine the pain that Arizona was experiencing and the deep bruise that was almost certainly already marring the blonde's flawless skin.

The Scarrans were horrifying. Callie couldn't tell for sure, but she guessed they were about eight feet tall, and they were unlike anything she'd ever seen. Brutal and ferocious, they appeared to Callie to be made of pure muscle, and they displayed a terrifying amount of strength. They didn't wear much body armor, but their skin appeared to be highly resistant to the Federation's rifles, and it took Arizona's team a considerable amount of sustained fire to take even one Scarran down.

Every few minutes, Callie managed to tear her eyes away from Karev's camera to monitor the information they were receiving from sick-bay. So far, five members of Arizona's team had been beamed off of the Scarran ship. Two had been killed on impact—dead before Mark and his doctors even had a chance to do anything. One was in critical condition and in the middle of emergency surgery, and the other two were stable and expected to make it.

After quickly checking on sick-bay's status, Callie flashed her eyes back to her fiancée. _Come on, baby,_ Callie thought. The layout of the Scarran's ship was somewhat unfamiliar, but Callie instinctively knew that Arizona's team had to be nearing the bridge. The plan was that if the away team could reach and secure the bridge, any other remaining crew on the Scarran ship would hopefully stand down and surrender. Hopefully.

Callie and her officers continued to watch the scene unfolding before their eyes. It was chaotic. Terrifying. There were lasers flying everywhere, the screams of people being hit or the sounds of officers yelling orders to their troops. Callie was chilled by the tone of Arizona's voice when the blonde yelled her orders. It was eerily calm, lifeless, mechanical. She could tell that Arizona wasn't thinking at a normal level. She was operating on pure instinct, on years and years of Starfleet combat training. She was in the zone, and it was frightening and disturbingly beautiful. Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins in combat was phenomenal, a wonder to behold.

Callie could sense the bridge getting closer and closer. Just a few minutes more. Then suddenly, before she knew what was happening, a Scarran was running, charging full speed towards the Federation forces. Callie watched in slow motion—no—time stopped—as the massive Scarran collided full speed into Arizona. Callie's eyes widened as the Scarran's claws found their way around Arizona's neck, his bladed weapon was plunged into Arizona's side, and Callie's miniscule fiancée was picked up and slammed with obscene force into the jagged metal of a nearby wall. Several yells cried out as the Scarran was shot numerous times by Arizona's team members, and he stumbled backwards as Arizona crumpled like a rag doll to the floor.

"Robbins!" Karev called out as he quickly knelt to assess his commanding officer's condition. "Robbins!" He leaned over to check the vitals displayed on her armor. But Callie couldn't read the numbers or hear anything being said. The only sound she was aware of was that of her heart pounding in her ears. Callie's vision became blotched and cloudy, and she vaguely could sense someone behind her reaching out to stop her from falling as her knees gave away.

"Arizona!" Karev called as Callie's fiancée continued to be unresponsive. Callie watched as Karev gently removed Arizona's helmet and her golden hair came falling out. Arizona's eyes were closed, and she was bleeding profusely from the side of her head where her helmet had collided with the wall. "Arizona!" Karev called again, trying to revive the Lt. Commander.

But Arizona didn't move. She didn't wake up. Callie's fiancée, the love of her life, was unresponsive. Arizona was lying in a crumpled, bloody heap on the cold, hard deck of a Scarran warship.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I love you guys.**

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Callie frantically yelled at April Kepner as she bounded into sick-bay. Kepner jumped, startled by the Commander's sudden appearance and extreme volume. "KEPNER, WHERE THE HELL IS ARIZONA?!" Callie yelled again when the young nurse didn't reply instantaneously. If April Kepner didn't inform her where her fiancée was _right now_, Callie Torres was fairly certain she was going to pick up a chair from the reception area and beat it out of the stupid bitch.

"Four! Room—Room Four!" Kepner squeaked out, her eyes wide and fearful of her commanding officer.

Callie didn't waste another second on Kepner as she ran past the reception desk and towards Arizona's room.

"But—Commander!" Kepner yelled after her in her annoyingly high-pitched voice. "You—you're not allowed back there!"

But Callie didn't hear the nurse—she was too busy headed to Room Four at a flat-out run. Skidding to a stop when she reached it, she burst through the door and into the chaos that was Arizona's trauma room.

There were doctors everywhere, moving frantically around the room and barking orders at each other. But Callie didn't hear or see them. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the limp and lifeless form that rested on the exam table.

_Arizona_.

There was blood everywhere. Arizona's head where it had impacted the wall, her neck where the Scarran's claws had dug into it, the gaping wound in her side where the Scarran's jagged blade had entered her. Arizona's left arm—the arm that had been shot earlier—was deeply bruised, but it was her right arm that made Callie's heart pound. Arizona's right side had been the one that hit the wall, and her right arm, wrist, and hand were a mangled mess. Her shoulder and elbow were clearly dislocated, and Callie could only guess how many bones had been broken and shattered. And if the impact had been enough to do _that_ to Arizona, what were her internal injuries?

_Oh, Arizona._

Callie watched, unable to breathe, as the doctors pumped her fiancée full of God-only-knew how many different drugs and chemicals. The doctors were everywhere, scanning Arizona with tri-corders, placing pressure on her wounds, continuing to cut the armor off of her maimed body. Callie wasn't a squeamish person, but she could taste bile in the back of her mouth, and she was having difficulty not vomiting all over the floor. She couldn't believe this was happening. Arizona—her young, beautiful, vibrant, healthy Arizona—was bleeding to death on an exam table before her very eyes.

"Ah! Hey! You can't be in here!" Dr. Bailey exclaimed when she caught sight of Callie standing in the doorway. But Callie didn't hear her. Moments later, strong hands from behind her were dragging her out of the exam room as she fought furiously to stay. But the hands were stronger than her, and she felt herself being pulled away from Arizona.

"No!" Callie screamed, her arms flailing wildly as she tried to fight off whoever was holding her. She started hitting, punching, and kicking at random.

"Somebody sedate her!" she vaguely heard a voice exclaim, and moments later she felt the cool touch of a hypospray being held up against her neck. Things went black.

* * *

"Torres? Cal, can you hear me?"

Callie heard a muffled voice pulling her back to consciousness, and she blinked up at the face of Dr. Mark Sloan.

"Cal?" he said, his voice a little more clear now.

_Arizona. Where is Arizona? WHERE IS ARIZONA?!_

"Arizona!" Callie jerked awake and grabbed Mark's arm. "Where is she? How is she?"

"Shh, shh, calm down!" Mark encouraged. "They just beamed her to the OR, we're gonna start to operate in a minute."

Callie tried not to hyperventilate. If they were transporting her to an operating room, that…that meant Arizona was still alive. That meant they thought they could do something for her.

"Mark," Callie whimpered. _Mark_. Wait—what was Mark doing in the corridor and not in the OR? "Mark!" she yelled loudly, causing the doctor to jump back slightly. "Why aren't you operating on her?!"

"Whoa, calm down, Cal," Mark coached. "I'm about to head in there, don't worry. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You can watch from the gallery if you want."

Callie nodded numbly. "Mark," she whimpered again. She didn't know how to communicate to her best friend how badly she needed him to save Arizona's life.

Mark knelt down in front of Callie so that he was at her eye level. "Callie Torres, I am going to do everything in my power to save your girlfriend." The look in his eyes was everything—comforting, reassuring, loving, honest. She'd never been more thankful for Mark Sloan than at that very moment.

"Fi—fiancée," she stuttered brokenly. "She's—she's my fiancée."

"Fiancée," Mark corrected himself with a nod and a soft smile. "Congratulations, Callie. She's a hell of a woman." With that, he patted her hand and started to walk towards the OR. Callie followed him and found her way silently into the gallery.

Tim was already seated on one of the benches in the gallery, and Callie had never seen him look so withdrawn. Tim was usually vibrant, full of life. Joking, laughing, leering. But he was just sitting on the bench, staring vacantly into the OR, his skin pale and the light gone out of his baby blue eyes. He nodded at Callie solemnly when he noticed her enter the gallery. She took a seat next to him and loosely intertwined their hands.

"Tim," she murmured, unable to form the words she needed to properly express her sorrow.

"Callie," he stated in much the same way. It was alright though. They needed no other communication.

Callie stared into the OR and at the viewscreens in the gallery as the doctors began to cut into the body of the woman she loved. She couldn't keep up with what was happening. The surgical equipment they used was so advanced, all robots and lasers and things she didn't understand. And it seemed as though they were operating everywhere on Arizona at once—her brain, her neck, her mangled arm, her internal organs.

Callie didn't know much about medicine or anatomy—she hadn't taken any elective biology classes at the academy and had instead focused on military tactics, starship operations, diplomacy, and politics—but from what she could tell, Arizona's lifesigns were stable. Not good, but stable. Arizona had been already dead or dying when they'd beamed her aboard the _Seattle_, but she wasn't anymore. She was alive. Mark Sloan, top of his class at Starfleet Medical, was operating on her. Callie's breathing still wasn't anywhere near normal, but it was better than it had been.

At some point during the surgery—Callie didn't know when—she sensed a familiar presence beside her and looked up to see her older sister hesitantly approaching. Aria was wearing sweats and her appearance was disheveled—she had obviously just been woken in the middle of the night by one of Callie's crew—but Callie hardly noticed. As soon as Aria sat down, Callie found herself crashing into the waiting arms of her sister, breathing in her sister's comforting scent and letting herself be held. Letting herself absorb some of Aria's calm strength. Aria was murmuring things in Callie's ear that Callie didn't quite register, but she liked the sound of her sister's voice and she liked the feeling of Aria rubbing calming circles on her back.

Later on—Callie had no sense of time—Mark activated the intercom and informed the observers in the gallery that he was confident enough to say that Arizona would live. He couldn't yet determine if Arizona had permanent brain damage, and he couldn't promise that she wouldn't live without some sort of physical disability or reliance on machines, but he could promise that she'd live. Callie released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, closed her eyes, and felt Aria squeeze her hand. Her fiancée wasn't going to die. Arizona was going to live.

"Commander Torres?" she heard a voice from the corner of the gallery a few minutes—or hours—or days later. She turned towards the door to see Lt. Commander Yang standing at attention.

Callie swallowed hard. "Ye—yes?"

Cristina Yang cleared her throat and delivered her report calmly and evenly, her face and voice completely devoid of any emotion. "I'm here to inform you that the mission is complete. After Lt. Commander Robbins was beamed aboard the _Seattle_, I took command of the away team and we continued towards the bridge. A total of 15 Scarrans were killed, and we have 17 in custody. We expect most of them to survive their injuries. We were able to shut down the ship's self-destruct sequence. The Scarrans had started to purge their databases, but we were able to stop them in time, and Lt. Grey is confident that she and her team can reconstruct all of the data they deleted within a few days. We have eight dead, seven critically injured, and 14 with non-life threatening injuries. Overall, the mission was an overwhelming success. Congratulations, Commander."

Callie listened, numbly, as Yang prattled off the mission report as if she was reading from a textbook. _Eight dead, seven critically injured, and 14 with non-life threatening injuries. Overall, the mission was an overwhelming success. Congratulations._ Callie felt bile rising in the back of her throat again. How could that be an overwhelming success? Congratulations? Callie had just ordered eight well-trained Starfleet officers to their deaths. The love of her life was lying maimed on an operating table in front of her. Six other officers—the loves of other peoples' lives, the daughters, sons, wives, husbands, sisters, and brothers of other people—were also lying maimed and bleeding on operating tables in the rooms nearby. And with the current standard of medical care, just because an injury was non-life threatening didn't mean it wasn't serious and horrible. Twenty-nine Starfleet officers were either dead or injured because Callie had sent them into battle. Because they had been following Callie's orders. _Overwhelming success_? How could this possibly be an overwhelming success?

"Commander Torres?" Yang repeated herself when Callie just stared blankly at the security chief.

"Yes, Yang?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

Callie swallowed and nodded. "Yes. Thank you. You're dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am," Yang said with a nod. Then she quietly let herself out of the gallery. Callie turned numbly back to stare at Arizona.

_Eight dead._ She would have to call eight sets of parents to tell them that she'd killed their child. That was the only way Callie saw it. The Scarrans hadn't killed their children. She had. _She_ was responsible. The blood was on _her_ hands.

Arizona's blood was on her hands.

* * *

Callie, Tim, and Aria sat in a patient recovery room, waiting impatiently for Mark. The surgery on Arizona was essentially complete. The nurses were just closing her, regenerating her skin to remove scars, burns, and bruises, and stimulating the hair follicles where her head had been shaved for brain surgery. Callie and the others had just received that one update—that Arizona was going to live. Mark would explain the rest when he got there.

"Hey guys," Mark said evenly as he entered the room. Callie sat up straight, anxious for him to get started. "Okay," he sighed as he pulled up a chair and sat down. He took a moment to catch a breath and rub his face—Callie had learned that Arizona's surgery had taken eight hours, and he'd been on his feet and in the OR for all of them.

"She did very, very well," Mark started. "We were able to repair all of the damage to her body. Obviously, she suffered major blunt trauma and massive internal injuries, so her body is still in a state of shock, and it'll take a while until she feels fully up to speed again, but her injuries are healed."

Callie closed her eyes and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She felt herself starting to cry for the first time since Arizona had been beamed back to sick-bay. She knew that medicine had reached a point where doctors could cure almost any disease and heal almost any injury. But still, seeing Arizona's gorgeous body completely torn apart—the smooth, soft, warm body that Callie worshipped—had been awful. Hearing Mark Sloan saying that he'd been able to put it all back together again was more than she could have hoped for.

"The only thing that we don't know about, and won't know about until she wakes up, is her brain," Mark continued. "Everything looks really good in there—we were able to stop the bleeding and swelling and repair the tissue. Her brain activity looks great. But still, as far as we've come in terms of understanding the brain over the past several hundred years, we still don't know everything. There's still a chance she could not wake up, and there's still a chance she could wake up and not be _her_, or not have full function."

Callie nodded as Mark continued. She had assumed that was a possibility. But she knew that the chances Arizona's brain would be just fine were greater than the chances that it wouldn't.

"Right now," Mark said, "I fully expect that she'll wake up with her brain functioning normally."

"When—" Callie took a breath. "When do you think she'll wake up?"

"We're going to keep her under for the next several hours to give her body a chance to recuperate, and then we'll try to wake her," Mark said with a nod.

"Okay," Callie acknowledged. "Mark?" she said, not really wanting to know, but needing to know, the answer to the question she was about to ask.

"Yeah?"

"Was she…was she dead?"

Mark's eyes widened and then softened. He clearly hadn't been anticipating that Callie would ask that question. Callie wasn't sure that he was actually going to answer. "Yes," he said after a moment. "She was probably dead before she hit the deck. Killed on impact."

Callie again felt vomit in her mouth. Aria squeezed her hand. "How…how long?"

"About 15 minutes."

Callie squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "Okay," she said, tears streaming down her face. "Okay."

* * *

Arizona felt like she was swimming. Her vision was all blurry and garbled, and nothing made sense. She was on some kind of planet, she was floating in space, she was trapped in some liquid substance, and she had no idea what was making that strange noise to her left.

Her body hurt. She didn't know why or where it hurt. Actually, she wasn't sure she had a body. But whatever she was or whatever she had—it hurt. Not a sharp, unbearable pain, but a dull, confusing pain. Who was she? What was she? What was hurting? She didn't know.

She felt anxious, afraid. It was dark. She was alone. But yet, strangely, she wasn't alone. Someone or something was speaking. She wasn't sure she had a physical form, but something was touching her. It felt nice. The rest of her was in pain, but wherever this thing was touching her—her hand maybe? She didn't know what a hand was, and she wasn't sure that she actually had one, but this thing was touching it, and it felt nice. It felt familiar.

* * *

"Again, I can't tell you enough how deeply sorry I am for your loss," Callie said to the couple on her viewscreen. "Your daughter gave her life in the service of the Federation. This was a very, very important mission, and her sacrifice could end up saving thousands of lives. Your daughter died a hero."

The couple on the other side of the screen sobbed, and Callie felt her heart breaking in two. This was awful. This was only the second call she'd made—she still had several to go.

"Thank you, thank you for contacting us, Commander Torres," the husband said. "We appreciate it." Callie nodded as the transmission ended. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She didn't think she could keep doing this.

She glanced over at Arizona, who was sleeping soundly in her bed. Since they'd transported her into the recovery room several hours earlier, Callie hadn't left her side, hadn't let go of her hand. She needed to be near Arizona. She needed a physical connection to Arizona.

Admiral Kyoto, Preston Burke, and Meredith Grey had assured her that they could handle things on the station so that Callie could remain with Arizona. There was a lot to do. Meredith's team had already recovered a lot of data, and Admiral Kyoto's staff—including Tim, who had needed to do something before he went crazy—were pouring over the wealth of information. Science teams were sweeping the Scarran ship, studying its systems. Medical teams were examining the Scarrans, learning what they could about their physiology. They would put off interrogating the Scarrans for a few days until things were settled down. Until Callie—easily the best interrogator on board the _Seattle_, was ready to leave sick-bay and was in a state of mind where she could work.

So Callie just sat and kept vigil at Arizona's bedside. She answered a few messages now and then, read a few briefings, saw to a couple station issues. But she was mostly standing guard over her love, willing her to be alright. Aria had temporarily left to say good morning to her children and see them off to school, but Callie knew she would be back soon. Callie hadn't told her parents yet—she loved them, but didn't think she could handle her mother at the moment.

"Co—Commander?" Lexie Grey said, reluctantly entering Arizona's room and tearing Callie from her thoughts.

Callie sighed. She was exhausted. "Yes, Little Grey?"

Lexie looked nervous, anxious. "Umm…news of the mission has reached Earth, and we haven't released many details or given out the names of the members of the away team, but…Lt. Commander Robbins' parents have called, asking to speak with her. They're…they're both Starfleet, so…well they—they know that she's first officer and so she was probably on the mission…" Lexie trailed off, looking sheepish. "And, and I know her brother is on the station, but I figured since you're her fiancée and commanding officer…"

Callie nodded. "I'll…I'll take the call, Lexie. Thank you,"

"Okay," Lexie said with a nod. "See you later. I mean yes, ma'am."

Callie sighed and turned towards her PADD as Lexie exited the room. She'd never met Arizona's parents. Arizona had told her that she wasn't even sure if they actually knew they were still dating. She'd said that her parents had disapproved of their relationship because Callie was her commanding officer, and had instructed Arizona to break it off. _Well, here goes nothing_, she thought.

"Computer, connect me to the call from Arizona Robbins' parents."

The PADD's screen immediately changed and displayed Arizona's middle-aged parents. They immediately looked surprised and concerned to see a strange woman—a woman who wasn't their daughter—answering their transmission.

"Admiral Robbins and…Admiral Robbins?" Callie began. She really wasn't sure what she was supposed to call them. "I'm Commander Callie Torres, Arizona's commanding officer."

"Yes, she's mentioned you, Commander," Daniel responded. "Is she alright? I was expecting her to answer."

Callie took a deep breath. Informing peoples' parents that their child was gravely wounded or dead was awful, but how did you do it when those parents were your future in-laws?

"Arizona is…unconscious," Callie answered slowly. Daniel and Barbara immediately had concerned looks on their faces. They were both Admirals, so they were good at hiding it. But the concern was still there. "She—she sustained massive injuries on the away mission, but she's out of surgery. We're just…we're just waiting for her to wake up. The doctor should be trying to wake her within an hour or so."

"What's her prognosis?" Barbara asked calmly. Callie marveled at how well they were holding it together.

"Physically, she's fine. We won't know about her brain until she wakes up, but the doctor is very, very hopeful that her brain will be fine, too."

"She led the mission?" Barbara asked again.

"Yes, ma'am," Callie nodded. "And she did a phenomenal job."

"Can we see her?" Daniel asked. "Can you set up a link to the video monitor in her room?"

"Umm, I'm actually in her room," Callie said softly, rising from her chair and holding the PADD up so Arizona's parents could see her resting in the bed. The nurses had done a good job—Arizona appeared healthy and unharmed. Externally, there was no sign of the hell her body had just been through.

"Thank you, Commander Torres," Daniel said.

Callie turned the PADD back around towards herself and sat down again. "You're welcome, Admiral."

Daniel's face looked sour. "I'm sure you have a lot of work you could be doing at the moment, Commander Torres. Is there a reason why you're sitting in our daughter's room, holding her hand?"

"Are you two…still an item?" Barbara asked, a similarly displeased look on her face.

Callie knew she could just say "Yes" and leave it at that, but she didn't feel that was fair. To Arizona's parents, to Arizona, or to her. She knew Arizona might have preferred to inform the Robbins' of their engagement herself, but Callie felt it was time to tell them, now.

"Admirals," Callie started. "I'm in love with your daughter, and…I've asked her to marry me. She has accepted, and we were planning on calling you last night, before…before all of this happened."

Arizona's parents sat still for a moment, digesting the information. Callie couldn't quite read them, but they didn't look pleased. It was certainly a far cry from the joyous reaction they'd received from Callie's family the night before.

"I see," Daniel said, looking over at his wife before looking back to Callie. "Thank you for updating us, Commander Torres. Please contact us when our daughter awakes."

Callie swallowed as the transmission abruptly ended. _That could have gone better._

* * *

"Arizona? Arizona, sweetie, it's time for you to wake up."

Arizona could hear voices talking in the distance, but they weren't making any sense.

"Arizona, Arizona, you have to try to wake up."

The voices were getting closer, and then WHAM! Everything was white hot, red. Everything was pain. Her entire body was in pain, everything was on fire.

"Ok, up her pain meds," she heard a garbled voice call. Its owner sounded male.

And then the pain faded. It went away.

"Arizona? Can you wake up for me?"

_Calliope_. That voice belonged to her Calliope. She fought valiantly to open her eyes. She wanted to see Callie. She wanted to see her so badly.

"Ca—Callie?" she heard her own voice croak as she struggled towards consciousness. She wanted so desperately to wake up.

"Yes! Yes, baby, I'm here, I'm right here."

Arizona felt someone squeezing her hand, stroking her arm. And then there was light. Blurry blobs. The blobs were moving, looking at her.

"Arizona?"

She tried to focus on the blob right next to her, the one that had Callie's voice.

"Callie?" she asked, confused. "Where? What?"

"You're in sick-bay, Arizona. You're safe."

Callie sounded like she was crying. Arizona strained harder to make her eyes work faster. Callie was starting to take shape, starting to appear in more detail. And then finally, there she was. She looked tired, concerned, emotional. Her hair was matted and her eyes were red and puffy, but she was there. And she was the most beautiful thing Arizona had ever seen.

"Brain activity looks phenomenal," she heard Mark Sloan say from her other side. "It's perfect," he said a moment later, his voice excited. "Callie, her brain is perfect."

"Calliope?" Arizona said, reaching out for the woman that she loved. Callie quickly leaned forward so that Arizona could touch her hair, touch her face. Arizona smiled sadly as she tried to wipe some of the tears out of her fiancée's eyes, but Callie just started laughing with joy and kissing Arizona's hand repeatedly.

"Hey!" Callie said, a radiant smile crossing her face.

"Hey," Arizona said weakly.

"Welcome back, baby."

"I'm gonna put her back under now," Arizona heard Mark say.

"Okay," Callie nodded at Mark. Then she turned her gaze back towards Arizona. "Rest now, sweetheart. I'll see you later, okay?"

"I love you, Calliope," Arizona murmured. And then everything was black again.

* * *

**AN: I know some of you may feel like this is "too perfect" because Arizona is essentially fine. But I think it's realistic enough given the technology available to them at this point in the future.**


	21. Chapter 21

Commander Callie Torres sighed as she looked at the clock in her office. Early evening. Callie couldn't believe that just twenty-four hours earlier, she'd been complaining about engagement rings and getting ready to announce her engagement to her family. Then Meredith had detected a cloaked ship, Callie had authorized a mission, and Arizona had died.

_Died_.

Yes, she'd only been dead for fifteen minutes, and yes, Mark had brought her back to life and completely healed her body. But still, Callie didn't know how to handle it. She didn't know how to come to terms with the fact that she had ordered the love of her life into danger and death.

Callie was fairly certain the past twenty-four hours had been the worst of her life. Two more of the critically wounded Starfleet officers had succumbed to their injuries, bringing the total death count to ten. Callie had had to deliver the worst news possible to ten families. The most devastating by far had been the young wife and daughter of a fallen security officer. They lived on the station, so Callie had delivered the news in person, and she'd barely been able to keep it together. The little girl playing happily in the corner would never know her father because Callie had sent him to his death.

So here Callie was, sitting on the couch in her office, not doing much of anything. Both Mark and Tim had encouraged her to leave Arizona's room—Callie had a station to run, and if she abandoned her post at such a crucial time, it wouldn't look good. Callie had told them that she didn't care—she needed to be with Arizona, Starfleet be damned. But Tim made it very clear to Callie that if she ruined her career over this, Arizona would never forgive her. So after several assurances from Mark that Arizona would be under the entire time, Callie had reluctantly returned to work.

As the commanding officer of the _Seattle_, the war with the Scarrans wasn't technically her problem. She was there to administer the station, keep its research crews producing, and host whatever diplomatic meetings were needed in the region. It wasn't her job to fight a war.

But just because the war wasn't her job didn't mean that she didn't want to help as much as she could. She'd lost ten members of her crew to obtain intelligence for this war that supposedly wasn't her problem, so she was going to make sure that every single piece of information was exploited. Somehow, it made those ten deaths slightly more palatable. Slightly.

What Callie really wanted to do was march down to the detention center and beat the Scarran prisoners to a bloody pulp. She wanted to do to their bodies what they'd done to Arizona's. She wanted to strangle them and stab them and throw them into walls with such sheer force that it shattered numerous bones in their bodies. She wanted to interrogate the hell out of them until they begged her to stop. The Federation had anti-torture laws, to be sure, but that didn't mean that an interrogation with Commander Callie Torres was pleasant. She was excellent. And she was ruthless. She found ways to torture people without laying a single hand on them. But she'd agreed with Admiral Kyoto's recommendation that they learn more about Scarran culture before they began interrogations, so Callie would have to wait a few more days before she got to exact her vengeance.

In the meantime, when Callie was able to concentrate on anything except for the small blonde woman lying in a hospital bed, Callie was reading as much as she could about the Scarrans. Their society was separated into two distinct castes—the ruling class and the soldiers. Callie's best medical researchers were working around the clock to discover why, but there were anatomical differences between the two castes. The ruling class had larger brains and more humanoid features, while the soldier class had a less evolved, almost brutish appearance. And there were clear social differences between the two castes as well. Callie had a viewscreen up to monitor the Scarrans in their detention cells, and the two classes did not seem to have any interest in interacting.

"Answer," Callie called when the computer informed her she had a call. "Hey Mark," she said when she saw her best friend's face appear on screen.

"Hey Cal," he said. "How you holding up?"

Callie sighed. She was exhausted. She hadn't slept in quite a while. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, Torres. You want me to prescribe you some stims to get you through the next few days?"

"No," Callie shook her head. She didn't like the way she felt on stims. "I think I'll be able to get some sleep tonight."

"I think you will too," Mark said with a big smile on his face. "I'm ready to wake your girl up. She's good to go home with you tonight."

Callie's heart fluttered nervously. She'd been anxiously waiting for this. Would Arizona hate her? Would she want nothing more to do with Callie after what she'd been through? Arizona had told Callie that she loved her when she'd first woken up, but she'd also been delirious. Part of Callie wished Mark would keep Arizona under longer. Part of Callie wanted another day to get over the trauma of seeing her fiancée lying dead on a table. Part of Callie wanted Mark to keep Arizona sedated indefinitely so Callie could get this overpowering sense of guilt to go away. But the rest of her was dying to see Arizona's baby blue eyes again.

"Ok," Callie nodded. "I'll be right down."

* * *

Arizona's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she was immediately confused. She wasn't in her bed _or_ Callie's bed. Where was she?

"Hey, Arizona," she heard Callie's voice say sweetly.

"Hey," Arizona replied, sitting up and getting her bearings. Callie quickly leaned over to fluff the pillow behind her. She was in sick-bay, but there weren't any doctors. Only Callie was in the room.

"What…what happened?" she asked slowly. She remembered being on the Scarran ship. Her left arm was throbbing from absorbing a laser blast, and then…had a Scarran charged towards her?

"You were um, you were injured during the mission," Callie said nervously. Arizona took a moment to examine her fiancée. She looked anxious, fearful. The cool, calm, and confident Callie Torres was nowhere to be found. She looked so…small.

"Are you okay, Callie?" Arizona asked, concerned.

Callie let out a rueful laugh. Arizona had never seen Callie like this. Her shoulders were sunk, like an enormous weight was resting on them, and all of the warmth was drained out of her beautiful brown eyes. Her fiancée looked exhausted, beaten down, cold.

"Calliope?" she asked gently. "Are you okay?" She reached out to massage Callie's hand.

"How—" Callie scoffed. "How can you ask me if _I'm_ okay? You're the one in sick-bay."

Arizona looked down to examine herself. The arm that had been shot looked fine, all of her appendages were functioning normally, her skin didn't have any tearing on it. As far as she could tell, she was fine. She looked back up to meet Callie's hardened eyes. "I feel good, Callie. What was wrong with me?"

Callie stood still for a moment, a look of terror fixed on her face. It gave Arizona a sinking feeling in her stomach. What had happened? What had Callie seen? What…what state had Arizona been in when they brought her aboard the _Seattle_?

"Callie?" Arizona said carefully, scooting to one side of the bed to make more room. She threw the covers back and patted the bed next to her. Callie numbly walked over and sat down. "It's okay," she whispered when Callie had settled into the bed. Arizona wrapped her arms tightly around the other woman. "It's okay, I'm fine."

Callie was looking at her like she was afraid of her. Afraid to touch her. Afraid to break her.

"Computer," Arizona called out. "What were my injuries when I was beamed aboard last night?"

"You were beamed aboard at 8:47 last night. Upon your arrival, you were pronounced dead."

Arizona's eyes widened and she swallowed hard as the computer kept speaking.

"You were transported to surgery at 8:53, and you were pronounced alive at 9:02. After your successful resuscitation, you underwent an eight hour procedure to repair damage to the brain, neck, spinal cord, arms, heart, lungs, and kidneys."

Arizona watched as Callie shook and winced in pain as the computer listed off her numerous injuries. _Dead_. She'd been _dead_ for fifteen minutes. And nearly every major organ in her body had sustained damage. What the hell had _happened _to her?

"Callie," Arizona murmured as she pressed her lips to Callie's neck. "Did you…did you _see_ all that?"

Arizona felt Callie's head nod up and down, and her heart broke.

"Oh, Callie," Arizona said, pulling her fiancée more tightly against her. "You shouldn't have seen that, you shouldn't have seen that."

"I'm so sorry," Callie sobbed brokenly.

"Hey, hey," Arizona tried to soothe her rattled lover. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

"But, but I sent you over there!" Callie cried.

"Callie, Callie, no," Arizona said, sitting up so she could look Callie in the eyes. "We are Starfleet officers. We are members of the _military_. We both knew when we signed up for this that…that danger was a part of the job." Arizona paused to wipe a few tears out of Callie's eyes. "You were doing your job, Callie," she said softly. "You made the right decision, and you are _absolutely_ not responsible."

"Yes—yes I am!" Callie said loudly, causing Arizona to jump back slightly. She could tell that Callie was having trouble catching her breath in between her sobs. "I—I'm the commanding officer! Who's job is it, who's responsibility is it, if it's not _mine_?"

Arizona sighed. She knew something of what Callie was going through. She'd ordered an officer to his death before. And she knew that getting over that was a process—the guilt wouldn't disappear overnight. But she didn't know how to help Callie through _this_. She didn't know how to help Callie cope with the fact that it had almost happened to _her_, the woman that Callie loved.

"Calliope," Arizona breathed out. She didn't know what to say, what to do. What happened to Arizona had clearly shaken Callie to her core. "Here, feel my heart," Arizona said, grabbing Callie's hand and placing it on her chest. "Can you feel it beating?"

Callie nodded slowly.

"Can you feel my skin? I'm warm, Callie. My heart is beating, and I'm warm. I'm here. I'm alive. You haven't lost me. I'm here."

"Can you…can you forgive me?" Callie said weakly.

"Calliope Torres," Arizona said emphatically. "There is nothing to forgive."

* * *

"So, um," Arizona said as she flopped onto the couch in Callie's quarters. "Do you know if Tim has called my parents?" She was hoping that they had no idea what was going on so she could break the news to them with an "I'm fine" at the front end. When Callie didn't answer, she turned to face her fiancée. "Callie?"

"I uh," Callie looked down. "I spoke with them."

"Oh," Arizona said, unable to hide her surprise.

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "They called the station, and Lexie routed them to me."

"What did um…what did you guys talk about?"

Callie sat down next to Arizona and linked their hands. Arizona had been able to lift Callie's spirits slightly by repeatedly reassuring her that she wasn't in any pain, and that she didn't blame Callie for anything. And then Callie had made her heart hurt by asking if she still loved her, if she still wanted to marry her.

_"Yes, Callie, yes,"_ Arizona had responded. _"I am so in love with you. Nothing is going to change that, and I want to marry you more than anything."_

"Um," Callie responded, looking a little sheepish. "I told them…I, I told your parents that we're getting married."

"You _what_?"

"I know—I know, it was probably stupid, but it felt right at the time. It just…Arizona, I didn't want to lie to them."

"It's okay, Callie, it's okay. I'm not mad. I just wanted to know what you told them." Arizona paused to place a reassuring kiss on her fiancée's trembling lips. "Is it okay if I call them now?"

"Sure," Callie nodded. "You want me to give you some privacy?" she said, starting to stand.

"No," Arizona said, keeping a firm grip on Callie's hand and refusing to let her leave the couch. "No, I want you right here. Always."

"Okay."

"Computer, call my parents please."

Arizona waited impatiently as the computer connected her to Earth. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. Her parents had practically ordered her to break up with Callie. She hadn't exactly _led_ them to believe that she had, but she also hadn't gone out of her way to let them know that the opposite was true. When her parents appeared on screen, she felt herself snap into perfect posture on instinct. Nothing but the utmost military decorum was acceptable in her family.

"Arizona!" Barbara exclaimed warmly. "It's so good to see you awake."

"You, you saw me when I was asleep?"

Barbara nodded. "Commander Torres let us see you."

"Oh," Arizona responded, taking a moment to smile at her fiancée. That had been thoughtful.

"You feeling alright, trooper?" her father asked her.

"Yes, Dad," Arizona replied. "The doctors patched me up well."

"Well we heard about how successful the mission was," Daniel continued. "We're proud of you, Lt. Commander."

"Thanks, Dad," Arizona smiled. She turned to look at Callie again. Callie was visible to Arizona's parents, but so far they hadn't actually acknowledged her presence. Arizona was anxious to include Callie in the conversation.

"Guys, um," Arizona hesitantly started. "This is Callie. I mean, I know that you spoke when I was unconscious, but, well, this is her." As soon as Arizona finished speaking, she mentally chastised herself. _Well, this is her?! Great introduction, Robbins._ Callie smiled uncomfortably at Arizona's parents while Daniel and Barbara exchanged a displeased look.

"Arizona," Daniel said with a sigh as he turned back towards his daughter. "You know that your mother and I have serious concerns about you dating your commanding officer."

"We're not dating, Dad," Arizona corrected, desperate for her parents to get on board. "We're engaged. I'm going to marry her."

"Arizona, have you learned nothing in the past day?" Daniel's voice was growing more agitated. "This woman, who you say loves you, had to send you a very dangerous mission where you almost died."

Arizona quickly glanced to her side as her father continued his lecture. Clearly Callie hadn't shared with them that she actually _had_ died.

"The burden of command is heavy enough before you add in personal feelings. How do you know this situation won't come again?"

"Dad," Arizona tried to interrupt.

"No—I'm not finished," Daniel continued. "As an officer, it's bad enough when you have to send good people into situations where they _might_ die. But what about situations where you know that they _will_ die? Arizona, every commanding officer hopes that day will never come, but I have had to order officers into _certain_ death. And it was the right decision! It saved lives! But I wouldn't have been able to do it if it had been your mother, or you, or Tim. _That_ is why you don't have personal relationships with those under your command. If Commander Torres is in a situation, where the future of the Federation is hanging in the balance, it is her _duty as an officer_ to be able to sacrifice her people for the greater good. Can you tell me with absolute certainty that she'd be able to order you to die? That she could command you to lay down your life in service to the Federation? Because she needs to be able to do that, or she isn't fit for command."

Arizona sighed loudly and rested her face in her hands. Her father was right, technically. But then, he always was. He was a brilliant man, a decorated Starfleet admiral. There was no winning with him. But what was she supposed to do? Just break it off? She was in love with Callie. She couldn't just stop.

"That's what I thought," Daniel said with finality when she hadn't responded after a few moments.

"Dad," Arizona huffed, lifting her face back up. "You…you fight with all of these hypothetical worst-case scenarios. Commanding officers go their entire careers without having to make decisions like that. And Callie already _was_ able to send me into danger. Do you know what the probability of her having to _order me to die_ is? It's infinitesimally small!"

"Arizona, you're missing the point—"

"No!" Arizona cut her father off. "_You're_ missing the point. I love her. _I. Love. Her_. This, this isn't just some little fling that'll fizzle out in time. This is real, Dad. I mean, when have I ever told you that I was in love with someone? Never! The answer is _never_, Dad. If I have to choose between Starfleet and Callie, it's Callie, no question, every time. If she asked me tomorrow to leave Starfleet and be a dilithium miner with her, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm, I'm gonna _marry_ her, Dad. I'm gonna have _children_ with her. I don't care if you think it's a stupid decision. I need her in order to breathe."

Arizona could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She'd never—_never_—spoken to her father like that before. On the viewscreen, Daniel and Barbara looked shocked by her exclamation, and next to her, Callie was looking at her with awe and adoration. Arizona swallowed anxiously, waiting for her parents to respond.

"Well," Daniel finally spoke, his voice and his face sour. "God save us from the Scarrans, then."

* * *

**AN: Arizona's conversation with her dad made me think of when Buffy had to kill Angel to save the world and…yeah, I'm gonna go cry in a dark corner now.**

**AN2: I think I'm getting pretty close to being done with this story. I am NOT close to being done with these characters and the setting, but ultimately, this isn't the story that I want to tell. This is the story that ****_sets up_**** the story that I want to tell. I want to tell a story about marriage, family, babies! I want to be Thing!Verse in space (not that I could ever compare to the awesomesauce that is Thing!Verse—if you haven't read it, stop reading this and go read it NOW). But yeah, I don't want to spend forever telling a story that is about war and angst. My pen name is FLUFFYcalzona for a reason.**

**So here is my plan: over the next several chapters, I want to get the girls firmly on the path towards their marriage and wrap up the Scarran storyline. And then I want to begin "USS Calzona: The Continuing Stories" Basically, if you aren't familiar with Thing!Verse (and if you aren't, GO READ IT NOW), what she does is she chronicles important moments in the lives of Calzona and their children. And she doesn't do it in chronological order. So you get to see Calzona in all sorts of parenting situations. You get to see their kids be born, go to school, figure out who they are. You get to see Calzona 5 years down the road, 10 years down the road, 50 years down the road, and it doesn't have to turn into a 450,000 word story to get there. I can't wait to write Arizona freaking out when their son flies a shuttlecraft by himself for the first time. I can't wait to write Callie and Arizona going out on a well-deserved date while the Robbins-Torres kids are giving babysitter Hailey Santos a hell of a time back in their quarters. There are just so many stories that I want to tell, and I think following the Thing!Verse paradigm is the best way for me to do it.**

**Sound good?**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: I uploaded two chapters yesterday, so…yeah. Make sure you've read those first :P**

* * *

"Mom and Dad are _soooo_ pissed at you," Tim said as he slid into a chair next to Arizona.

"Oh, you heard?" Arizona asked. She knew that Tim talked to their parents more frequently than she did, so she wasn't terribly surprised that he'd heard of their fight.

"Um, yeah, you could say that," Tim said with a laugh. "I just got out of a call with them. Dad was ranting about how you and Callie are the downfall of Starfleet."

Arizona just rolled her eyes. She thought her dad was overreacting.

"One 'Sex on the Beach' for the little lady," Callie said as she got to the table and handed Arizona her drink.

"Mmm, thank you, babe," Arizona said, leaning up to kiss Callie on the cheek.

About a week had passed since the successful capture of the Scarran spy vessel. In recognition of Meredith Grey's groundbreaking accomplishment in detecting cloaked Scarran vessels, as well as her excellent service in Starfleet thus far, Callie had promoted the elder Grey to the rank of full Lieutenant. And in response to his girlfriend's promotion, Derek Shepherd was throwing a massive party for Meredith and her fellow officers. Free drinks had sounded like a good deal, so Callie, Arizona, and most of their friends were currently blowing off steam at McDreamy's.

"So can Alex even show his face in here after the whole Izzie-Jo debacle?" Callie asked before taking a large gulp of her Rum and Coke.

"Oh didn't you hear?" Tim leaned in. "Karev dumped the hot blonde doctor in favor of the hot brunette bartender."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Tim nodded.

"Huh, well sorry for your sake, Tim. I know you kinda had a thing going with her."

"Oh it's fine," Tim said with a mischievous smile. "I just drowned my sorrows with a recently-single hot blonde doctor."

Callie choked a little bit on her drink. "You and Karev just….switched girlfriends? That's disgusting."

"Yeah, well," Tim said with a shrug. "Not the first time I've been called disgusting. Won't be the last." He gave Callie a wink before standing up. "If you'll excuse me, ladies, I see a lovely young woman in need of some refreshments."

"See ya, Tim," Arizona said unenergetically. She wasn't in a very good mood, and her brother's antics were grating on her. Especially because her pig of a brother actually had a chance of getting laid that night. Unlike herself.

She and Callie hadn't slept together since the mission, and Arizona was going crazy. She'd tried to initiate intimacy several times, but every time, Callie was "too tired" or "not in the mood." Before this week, Arizona couldn't think of a time when Callie had turned her down—for _any_ reason. When Arizona had questioned her about it, Callie had brushed her off, saying that there wasn't any deeper reason behind it. But Arizona didn't believe her.

Arizona had examined herself in the mirror. As far as she could tell, her body was exactly the same as it had been before the mission. She hadn't gained weight, the nurses had erased any sign of scars, her hair was the same. So she couldn't find any reason to believe that it was her appearance that was turning Callie off.

Was Callie mad at her? Had she done something? Their relationship had been tense this past week, but they weren't openly fighting, and Arizona couldn't think of anything she'd done to anger her fiancée.

Was Callie punishing _herself_? Was she still feeling guilty about Arizona's injuries, so she thought she didn't deserve sex? If that was the case, Arizona didn't think it was fair. If Callie was denying herself, she was also denying Arizona at the same time.

Arizona sighed to herself as she took another sip of her Sex on the Beach—the only sex she could look forward to for the evening.

"You alright, Arizona?" Callie said. Apparently she'd finally noticed the blonde's sullen mood.

"Yeah," Arizona said, brushing Callie's question off. Callie nodded and they fell into another tense silence. Arizona looked around the room at her friends having a good time. Meredith and Derek were sucking each other's faces off, Lexie and Mark were playing Ping Pong against Cristina and Burke, and even Nurse Kepner and Dr. Bailey were having a good time at the dart board. But she and Callie were sitting at a table. Gloomily. Not talking.

"You know what?" Arizona snapped, finally deciding that she'd had enough. Callie blinked at her and sat up a little straighter. "No. I'm not alright. You won't have sex with me, Callie!"

Callie's eyes widened and she quickly looked around, apparently concerned that someone was listening.

"Do you not love me anymore?" Arizona continued, not caring if anyone overhead. "Does my body repulse you, knowing that I was dead for fifteen minutes? Have I done something to upset you?"

"Arizona," Callie said in a hushed voice, her eyes instructing Arizona to keep it down. "No, of course not."

"Well then, what is it Callie?" Arizona exclaimed. "Why won't you sleep with me?"

"Arizona, can we please talk about this somewhere else?" Callie hissed.

"Sure!" Arizona exclaimed, abruptly standing from the table.

Callie looked up at her. "What, _now_?"

"Yes, now," Arizona said firmly. "Let's go," she said, gesturing towards the door. When Callie just sat there, Arizona just shrugged and headed towards the entrance, telling herself she didn't really care if Callie followed after.

* * *

"Arizona?" Callie called out into her darkened quarters. She'd already checked Arizona's place, but neither the blonde nor her roommate had been home.

"Arizona?" she called out again, heading for her bedroom when she noticed a soft light coming from it. She sighed when she stepped inside. There, huddled in the bed, was Arizona. And she was crying.

"Arizona," Callie sighed sadly as she approached the blonde and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said, placing a soft kiss on her fiancée's tear-streaked cheek and running a hand through her golden hair.

"Why don't you want me anymore?" Arizona asked quietly.

"I do," Callie said. "I do want you. I just…" Callie trailed off. She didn't know how to explain it.

"You just what?" Arizona asked, her watery blue eyes searching Callie's for an explanation.

Callie slowly exhaled. It was so complicated. She loved Arizona. She wanted Arizona. But seeing Arizona's maimed, lifeless body on a table—it had shaken Callie to her very core. And in her head, she knew that Arizona was better, that Arizona was healed. But she was still so scared of touching Arizona. Every time Callie hugged her fiancée, she was afraid she would squeeze her too hard. When Arizona kissed her, Callie was careful to keep it tender and chaste—she was too scared that a more passionate kiss would bring Arizona pain.

"Callie?" Arizona called when the Commander didn't respond.

Callie sighed and looked down. "I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you," she said simply. There, she'd said it.

Arizona wiped her eyes dry and sat up in the bed. "Callie, I'm fine," she started. "I'm as good as new. You can touch me exactly the way you would have before. I promise it won't hurt me."

"But, I _know_ that," Callie said, her voice filled with agitation. "I _know_ that you're healed. But, but every time I touch you, every time I close my eyes, all I see is you lying on that table."

Arizona frowned in sympathy for her fiancée as she began to massage Callie's arm and back.

"There was so much blood, Arizona. Your hair, your hair was drenched in your blood, and, and your—"

"Shh," Arizona soothed, leaning over to kiss Callie's hair. "Calliope," she breathed quietly into Callie's ear. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm whole." She scooted further into the bed and gently laid Callie down next to her. "I'm healthy, Callie. I'm not fragile. Please, please let me show you."

Callie felt her breath hitch as Arizona lay down on top of her. She tried to relax as Arizona started to kiss her neck and jawline. She lay deathly still, unable to move, as Arizona started to gently undress her. And then slowly, gradually, carefully, Callie started to touch Arizona as well.

Her hands found their way into Arizona's hair, grazing the scalp that had been open and bleeding. She kissed Arizona's neck, her lips trailing the path that the Scarran's claws had made. She ran her hands along Arizona's toned arms, feeling the soundness of Arizona's bones and muscles. She caressed the flesh of Arizona's side, finding no trace of the Scarran's jagged blade. She felt Arizona's heart beating, lungs breathing. She felt Arizona moving above her, warm and alive. Arizona's mouth on her skin, Arizona's hands on her body.

Callie could feel wetness on her cheeks. Was she crying? Or was Arizona crying? She didn't know. All she knew was that Arizona had been torn apart, had lain lifeless on a table. But now she was here, alive, in Callie's embrace. Arizona was healed, and Callie felt herself starting to be healed as well.

* * *

"The ruling class prisoners are going through some kind of withdrawal," Mark Sloan said. "That's all I know."

"Well they've got be in withdrawal from _something_ that was on their ship," Callie said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, but what?" Mark said. "Mer and I have been working on it non-stop. We've been through their food, their life support systems, their medical equipment. There wasn't anything that resembled recreational drugs on board."

"What are the symptoms?" Admiral Kyoto chimed in.

Admiral Kyoto, Commander Torres, and all of their senior officers were gathered in a conference room, discussing the current status of their prisoners, information learned through interrogations, and any new insights into the data gathered from the Scarran ship.

Callie held Arizona's hand tightly beneath the table. Callie had been avoiding sex with Arizona, wanting to wait until she was more confident in Arizona's health. But last night, they'd finally slept together after Meredith's party, and Callie had discovered that she'd been avoiding the very thing that would most reassure her of Arizona's life. They'd made love until the early hours of the morning, and Callie had drowned herself in her fiancée's body, examining every inch of it, checking and rechecking to make sure that every part of Arizona was exactly as it should be. Arizona had let Callie take her time, had seemed to know that Callie needed the chance to reassure herself that Arizona was healthy and whole. Callie had awoken that morning feeling much more peaceful, much less burdened.

"Well that's just the thing," Mark said, answering the admiral's question. "It's not like any kind of withdrawal that I've ever seen. Their _brain_ _capacity_ is diminishing."

"Wait, what?" Arizona said. "How is that even possible?"

"We really don't know," Meredith said, shaking her head. "We can't seem to find the answer."

"Okay," Callie sighed. "Start the beginning. What _exactly_ was in their mess?"

"All the food we've been giving them," Meredith started. "Meat, vegetables, fruit. Some bread. Water, alcohol. A few spices."

"Anything else?" Callie asked. There _had_ to be an explanation for this.

Meredith shrugged. "Plates, utensils, some flowers for the table. Umm, some reading material, tables and chairs obviously…"

_Flowers for the table_.

"Wait!" Callie exclaimed. "What kind of flowers?"

"Umm…" Meredith said, shrugging and shaking her head.

Callie turned to Arizona, who was giving her a confused look. "Get Teddy," Callie said. "And Henry." Arizona nodded, not understanding, but following her orders.

"Wait, Cal, you think they eat the flowers?" Mark asked.

"I know this is a long shot," Callie said, "But the Delvians have a trade agreement with the Scarrans. The Scarrans give them industrial equipment in exchange for…flowers."

"Okay, I've got it," Meredith said, looking up from her PADD. "The flowers in the mess were Strelitzia."

"Strelitzia?" Callie asked.

"Yep," Meredith nodded. "It says here they grow on Earth. South Africa."

"Commander Torres, what are you getting at?" Admiral Kyoto asked. "What do flowers have to do with anything?"

"Henry—the Delvian ambassador—said that the Scarrans buy a certain kind of flower from them in large quantities. It's considered a delicacy."

"A delicacy that only the Scarran ruling class would eat?" Mark said, catching on.

Callie shrugged. "Yeah." She knew it was a crazy theory, but they were stumped. A crazy guess couldn't hurt. She turned towards the door as it slid open, revealing Arizona, Henry, and Teddy.

"Henry," Callie said, standing up. "What kind of flower do the Delvians sell to the Scarrans?"

"Umm," Henry paused, clearly confused as to why he was standing in a room full of high-ranking Starfleet officers and talking about flowers. "They call it the Crystherium Utilia, but my people have a different name for it."

"Does it look like this?" Meredith asked, passing the PADD over to Callie. Callie held it out for Henry to see.

"Yes, that's it," Henry said.

"That's just Strelitzia," Teddy said, catching a glance as well. "Grows on Earth. If I knew it was valuable out here, I could be really rich right now."

"Do you have a specimen on board, Dax?" Callie asked excitedly. Maybe, just maybe, she was on to something.

Teddy shrugged. "Sure."

"Mark, Meredith," Callie said. "Analyze the hell out of that plant. Maybe it has a strange way of interacting with Scarran physiology."

"Yes, ma'am," Meredith said with a smile as she and Mark stood to exit the room.

"Dax, can you…?" Callie gestured for Teddy to go with her chief medical and science officers.

"Sure!" Teddy said excitedly. "It's about time you people discovered the joy of plants!"

* * *

"Robbins?"

Arizona's head snapped up when she heard Callie calling for her. She really didn't know why Callie insisted on being so formal in Command. Everyone already knew about their relationship. Heck—Callie had kissed Arizona full on the mouth in front of everyone in Command when Erica was aboard the station.

"Yes, ma'am?" she responded, going along with Callie's preference for keeping things professional during the day.

"Can I see you in my office for a sec?"

"Of course." Arizona said with a nod as she left her station and followed Callie into her office. She was hoping Callie was calling her into the office to make out and fool around on Callie's couch—her commanding officer's professionalism only went so far.

"Have a seat," Callie said as she took her own chair behind her desk. Arizona made a small pout. No making out.

"What's up?" Arizona said as she sat down.

"Your parents," Callie replied simply.

"Ugh," Arizona groaned. "Did they call you?" She hadn't spoken with her parents since they'd hung up on her after their fight, and she was sort of hoping that ignoring the problem would make it go away.

"No," said Callie. "However, I did just get a request for me to approve your transfer off the station."

"What?!" asked Arizona, alarmed.

"From an Admiral Gunderson? I think you said he's your dad's best friend?" Callie slid Arizona a PADD so she could have a look at it.

Arizona looked at the request. Sure enough, Alan Gunderson, her father's best friend and old roommate, was requesting that she be transferred to his fleet. It was a good posting—she'd be immediately promoted to Commander and given her own ship. It wouldn't be a bad move career-wise. Except that it had Admiral Daniel Robbins written all over it.

Arizona felt her blood begin to boil. She hadn't agreed to break up with Callie, so her father was trying to have her transferred away from Callie? She'd told her father that she _loved_ Callie, that she was going to _marry_ Callie, and he was trying to separate them?

"Computer, connect me to Admiral Daniel Robbins," Arizona snapped. She clenched her fists. Her father was going to get a piece of her mind.

"Computer, belay that," Callie said quickly. She sent Arizona a reproachful look. "Arizona, you'll just make it worse if you call him when he's angry."

"I don't care," Arizona replied, shaking her head. "He has completely crossed the line. I am a grown woman and he needs to respect my decisions, regardless of whether he agrees with them."

"I agree," Callie said carefully, not wanting to further upset the blonde. "But he's still your father, he's still an admiral, and calling him and yelling at him is not the solution."

"But he's trying to take me away from you!" Arizona said, in disbelief that her fiancée wasn't more upset by this.

"Arizona, I have to approve this request before you can be transferred. You know that. And _he_ definitely knows that."

"Well why would he go through all the trouble of getting Alan to send that if he knew you'd just reject the request?"

"Arizona, umm, is your dad maybe just a little bit passive-aggressive?" Callie asked quietly.

Arizona sighed. That was an understatement. "Do…do you think once you reject it that he'll do something else? Get you _ordered_ to transfer me?"

"Arizona, it's very _very_ hard to get an officer transferred if neither the officer nor their commander approves of the transfer. And in our position?" Callie shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he'd have to convince the Federation Council itself, and that's not gonna happen."

Arizona huffed in frustration. "So what do we do?"

Callie shrugged. "I really don't know. Have you talked with them at all since your fight?"

"No."

"Okay," Callie sighed. "Maybe I could talk with your father? Commanding officer to commanding officer? Maybe once he gets to know me a little bit better?"

"No," Arizona shook her head. "Callie, I think maybe the best thing right now is to ignore him. Take a hard line. Show him that we're together and nothing he does is going to change our minds. Show him that he's in the wrong, we're in the right, and we know it."

"But Arizona, isn't he stubborn?"

"Oh yes," Arizona said with an emphatic nod. "Definitely."

"So how can you be sure that he'll come around eventually? What if…what if he just decides to wait us out? I don't want you not being able to have your parents in your life because of me."

Arizona sighed and leaned back in her chair. She really didn't know what there was she _could_ do. Her father had made his opinion clear. And her father wasn't a man who changed his mind.

"I don't know, Callie," she said, shaking her head in surrender. "I really don't know."

* * *

"Alright, what do we got, guys?" Callie asked, looking expectantly at Mark Sloan and Meredith Grey. They were back in the conference room; Meredith and Mark had been working furiously to determine if there was any link between the Strelitzia and the Scarrans' withdrawal symptoms, and they were ready to deliver their report.

"You hit it on the head, Commander," Meredith said with an excited smile.

"The Strelitzia is responsible for all of the physiological differences between the Scarran ruling class and the soldier class," Mark added.

Callie raised her eyebrows. "_All_ of them?"

"Yes, ma'am," Meredith nodded. "Without the Strelitzia, the ruling class is just as stupid as the soldiers."

"And we've agreed that that's pretty stupid, right?" Arizona chimed in, looking towards the chief medical and science officers.

Meredith and Mark nodded. "The ruling class's intelligence is not naturally occurring," Mark said. "Without ingesting this flower, they're light years behind most space-faring species in terms of intelligence."

Callie leaned back in her chair to absorb this news. This…this was the kind of information that could change everything. They'd just identified a major weakness of their enemy. Now they just had to exploit it.

"Well then let's just destroy their entire supply of this damned plant," Callie said. It was as simple as that. War over.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Arizona chimed in.

Callie turned to face her fiancée, wondering how she could possibly object to a strategy that could end the war so quickly.

"Isn't that," Arizona started, "like a complete and blatant violation of the Prime Directive? We aren't allowed to interfere with a culture's internal development."

"Your point is well taken, Lt. Commander Robbins," Admiral Kyoto said. "But it depends on how you interpret it. We are at war with the Scarrans, and they aren't a pre-warp civilization."

"But we'd be depriving an entire species of their higher intelligence," Arizona argued. "If that isn't messing with their natural evolution, what is?"

"But it's not natural evolution," Callie exclaimed. "They have higher intelligence because they're using drugs!" She really couldn't believe Arizona was sticking up for the Scarrans.

"Alright," Admiral Kyoto said, cutting off the two women from arguing further. "I'll take both of your perspectives under advisement, but it really isn't up to the command crew of this station. Any new military campaign on the kind of scale we're talking about would have to be approved by Admiral Jennings, myself, and the Federation Council. In the meantime," he said, nodding at Sloan and Grey, "thank you two for your excellent work."

* * *

"Hey babe," Callie said as she walked into her bedroom. She'd stayed late in the office that night, strategizing with Tim on how they could exploit the Scarrans' dependence on Strelitzia if the Federation Council gave them a green light.

Arizona looked up from the PADD she'd been reading in bed. "Hey Callie," she smiled. "How was the rest of your day?"

"Mmm, good," Callie hummed as she placed a kiss on Arizona's waiting lips. She turned towards her closet to retrieve her pajamas. "I was working with Tim on the Strelitzia thing."

"Hmm," Arizona grunted an acknowledgement. Her face hardened slightly.

"Arizona, seriously?" Callie said, placing her pajamas on the bed and starting to remove her uniform. "We're at war. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Federation lives are at stake."

"Don't you think I know that?" Arizona replied softly.

Callie sighed. Of course Arizona knew that. She'd already almost lost her life.

"I just…" Arizona paused. "Callie, you've been through their computer files. They have art, literature, music. They're a people, a civilization. We take this flower away from them, and it's like we're bombing them back to the stone age."

"But that's just it, Arizona!" Callie argued. "If they had the chance to end _our_ civilization, they would! They refuse negotiations. They refuse any diplomatic contact at all! And in interrogations, their officers have promised me that they won't stop until we're completely annihilated!"

Arizona let out a huff of frustration. "Just because they don't share our system of morality doesn't mean that we should compromise our own values to defeat them! If we effectively destroy their culture, their whole society, how are we any better than them?"

"Arizona, we're at war!" Callie said, her voice starting to rise in volume. "And if we keep fighting it conventionally, we could very well lose! They could attack the station! You try explaining to Aria that it's okay that her children died, because, hey—we upheld our ethics! Ethics don't mean _anything_ at that point."

"So the Scarrans destroy our culture by killing us, or we destroy our culture by becoming monsters?" Arizona asked rhetorically. "I don't see much of a difference."

Callie rolled her eyes at her fiancée. Arizona's father had a penchant for the dramatic, and apparently so did his daughter. And this conversation clearly wasn't going anywhere.

"Wha—what are you doing?" Arizona asked when Callie got in bed and snuggled closely to her.

"Taking off your clothes," Callie said matter-of-factly as she started to remove Arizona's shirt.

"What?" Arizona asked bewilderedly. "Callie! We're having a discussion here."

"Mm hmm," Callie responded as she began working on Arizona's pants. "And I'm tired of it. No one ever resolves arguments about the Prime Directive—it's too vague."

"So…that's it?" Arizona said, still flustered from Callie's sudden change of mood. "We're just dropping it?"

"Yep," Callie answered simply. "We can continue it over breakfast if you'd like, but for now, I'd rather just blow your brains out."

Arizona opened her mouth to speak, and Callie was worried that Arizona might continue to argue. But after a moment's hesitation, Arizona's mouth snapped shut and Callie saw the blonde swallow hard. Arizona started nodding frantically.

"Okay."

"Mmm," Callie hummed as she started to run her hands along her fiancée's naked body. _Knew that would do the trick._

**AN: A couple of you asked where you could read Thing!Verse. It's written by a-windsor. I don't think I can do hyperlinks here, so just google her, and the first thing that comes up is her livejournal. She has a Thing!Verse masterlist there. Just be warned: reading it will make the TV show depressing because it's SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE SHOW.**


	23. Chapter 23

"Wow," Arizona breathed out as she stepped into the holodeck. She'd never actually been to the Greek island of Santorini, but she was pretty sure that's where she was. It was late in the evening. The small, white buildings were all lit up, and there was a warm breeze blowing in from the bay. In other words, it was perfect.

Arizona self-consciously ran a hand through her blonde curls and smoothed her light blue dress. She and Callie usually kept their dates casual, opting to grab a few drinks in casual tops and jeans, but Callie had instructed her to dress up and do her hair, so she had. She'd even spent extra time on her makeup, ensuring that her blue eyes—easily Callie's favorite part of her—really stood out.

"Callie?" she called out as she walked further into the town. Callie had told her to meet her there at seven o'clock, but so far, there was no sign of Arizona's gorgeous commanding officer.

"Hey, beautiful," she heard a sensuous voice call from behind her.

Arizona quickly turned around to follow the voice, and was rewarded with the sight of her stunning fiancée. Callie had obviously spent quite a bit of time on her appearance as well. Her dark red dress was hugging her delicious curves perfectly, and her raven black hair was hanging loose around her shoulders.

"How did you—" Arizona asked, confused as to how Callie had gotten behind her. She certainly wouldn't have walked by _that_ without noticing.

"Hmm, I have my ways," Callie said flirtatiously as she stepped up to Arizona, a small white flower in her hands. Arizona giggled slightly as Callie stuck the flower into Arizona's hair. "There," Callie said. "Perfect."

"You look beautiful," Arizona said simply. It was the truth. She was marrying the most stunning woman in existence.

"Only for you," Callie said with a smile. She reached over to take Arizona's hand and brought it up to her lips for a kiss. Arizona felt herself slowly melting—Callie was certainly in a romantic mood that evening. "Shall we?" Callie said, indicating the walkway.

Arizona nodded eagerly. She was excited to see what Callie had in store. They used to have time for more romantic dates, but with everything that had been happening lately, they just hadn't been getting out as much as they'd like to. Two days had passed since the crew of the _Seattle_ had discovered the Scarran's dependence on Strelitiza, and the Federation Council was still mulling the facts over. Callie and Arizona had agreed to disagree on the ethics involved and whether Callie's plan violated the Prime Directive. And it wasn't their problem, anyways—the decision-making power lied with the Council. The viewpoints of a Commander and a Lt. Commander mattered little.

The women walked in comfortable silence as Callie led them down a path close to the ocean. Arizona made a mental note to return to this hologram program again sometime—the water looked appealing, and Arizona would love to explore the coast. After a few minutes, Callie stopped at a small hotel and held the door open for Arizona.

"After you," she said chivalrously.

"Thank you," Arizona smiled as she stepped inside. What was Callie up to? Arizona had never seen her so amorous before.

The lobby of the hotel was quaint and charming. It was very old fashioned, to the point that Arizona wondered if Callie had set the hologram program to occur in the past. She turned to look at Callie when she felt her fiancée place a warm hand on the small of her back.

"Come with me," Callie whispered suggestively in her ear before grabbing her hand and leading her up a flight of stairs. Callie led her down a hallway and then up another flight of stairs before they finally stopped at a door. Arizona smiled, waiting for Callie to instruct her further, but Callie just leaned in and drew Arizona into a passionate kiss. "I love you," Callie whispered against her flesh.

Arizona kept her eyes shut for a moment before they lazily fluttered open again. Callie was looking at her with the most alluring look on her face. Arizona felt her pulse start to quicken. What had gotten into her fiancée?

Arizona gasped in pleasure as Callie led them into the room. It was beautiful. The floors and walls were made of stone, and the small entryway opened up into a gorgeous bedroom. The best part, however, was the massive balcony attached to the bedroom. It had a clear, undisturbed view of the ocean and surrounding landscape. There was an elegant table set for two and a cozy hut tub under the open sky.

"Calliope," Arizona breathed out. She turned to look at her fiancée in adoration. "This is so wonderful, thank you." She had no idea why Callie had pulled out all the stops that night, but Arizona was happy to be along for the ride.

"You're very welcome," Callie said, leaning over to place a kiss on Arizona's cheek. "You ready to eat?"

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded enthusiastically.

"Computer, begin Stage 2," Callie commanded as she led Arizona to the table and pulled out her chair for her. A holographic server appeared moments later, and some soft music began playing in the background.

"May I ask what the occasion is?" Arizona asked as soon as they'd had a chance to sample their first course and sip their wine.

"Nothing," Callie said with a shrug. "I just love you."

Arizona again felt her heart melting. This was quite possibly the best date ever, and it had barely just begun.

* * *

Callie nervously glanced at Arizona as her fiancée finished her dessert. Arizona's eyes were closed, her mouth savoring the last of the exquisite chocolate cake they'd been served. Throughout the dinner, Callie had made a mental note to eat gourmet food with Arizona more often—the blonde's moans of pleasure over her food were _almost_ as sexy as the blonde's throaty moans when they were making love. _Almost_.

Callie sat up a little straighter as Arizona opened her eyes and set her fork down, a contented look on her face.

"That was incredible, Calliope," Arizona said as she licked her lips clean. "Thank you."

Callie smiled and nodded at her fiancée as the holographic waiter came to clear their dishes. This was it—this was the opportune time to have this discussion. Callie felt her palms begin to sweat. She didn't know why she was so nervous—Arizona had already agreed to marry her.

"Arizona," Callie began.

"Hmm?"

"I uh, I have something that I want to give to you."

"Yeah?" Arizona said, sitting up excitedly. Callie thought it was adorable how Arizona's face lit up like a little girl whenever she received a present.

"I um, well, when you were unconscious, I uh…" Callie trailed off. Why couldn't she just say it? "I went to the um, the actual jeweler on board."

A wondrous smile crept onto Arizona's face and her blue eyes began to sparkle, giving Callie a little more confidence.

"Now I know that you wanted our rings to be identical, because it symbolizes how we're a perfect match."

Arizona nodded slightly, her eyes full of love for Callie.

"But, Arizona, things don't have to be identical to match. Things don't have to be exact copies of each other to belong together. Your hands are small, and, and my hands are big. And we, we aren't the same. You are noble, and strong, and protective. I'm…I'm more emotional, and sometimes it takes me longer to process to know what to do. But it's our differences that make us fit together. Your hands fit perfectly in mine _because_ they're smaller."

Callie paused to look at Arizona, to take her in, to see if she was following what she was trying to say. Arizona was smiling at her, just a hint of moisture pooling in her blue eyes.

"Callie," Arizona sighed, reaching out to grab her hand. "I love you, so so much."

"Well good," Callie said with a small laugh. "Because I love you too. And I um, I would love it if you would wear this ring."

Callie reached into a compartment she'd hidden in the table and pulled out a small box. She opened it slowly, revealing two matching diamond rings. One was an exact replica of the one Arizona had been admiring before they'd announced their engagement to their families. That one was for Callie. The other, lying just beside it, was Arizona's. It was essentially the same design—three large princess-cut diamonds—a large one in the center and then a smaller one on either side. Several more diamonds were channel-set into the band to give it an extra sparkle. But Arizona's was smaller and lighter. Airier. The band was more narrow so it wouldn't look loud and gaudy on the blonde's more delicate fingers.

Arizona gasped softly when she caught sight of the rings. They weren't the cheap, replicated kind, but were made from real diamonds and white gold. It gave them a certain added quality that replicators couldn't quite reproduce.

"Oh Callie," Arizona whispered, her voice filled with awe. "They're gorgeous."

Callie felt the nerves in her stomach being replaced with butterflies. Arizona liked the rings. She wasn't mad that they weren't exactly the same. Standing slowly from the table, Callie removed Arizona's ring from the box and knelt in front of the blonde. A dazzling smile crossed Arizona's face—she clearly hadn't been expecting being proposed to again.

"Arizona Robbins," Callie spoke. "You are the most loving, understanding, amazing woman I have ever met. I am thankful for every moment that I get to spend with you. You are so talented, and so beautiful, and so giving, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the universe because I get to call you mine. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Yes," Arizona said with a firm nod. "I want nothing more than to marry you, Calliope."

Callie smiled as she took Arizona's hand in hers and slid the ring onto her smooth finger. Callie had already asked her to marry her, and Arizona had already said yes, but it felt right to ask again. To do things properly, on her knees, with a beautiful diamond ring. Callie leaned down to kiss Arizona's ring finger before looking back up to smile at her fiancée.

"I love you, Arizona."

Arizona leaned forward, grasping Callie's face with both hands, and pulled her into a tender kiss. "I love you too," Arizona hummed against her lips, before helping Callie back to her feet. "Now you sit. My turn."

Callie let out an excited squeal. She'd been secretly hoping that Arizona would return the favor, would properly propose to her as well, but she hadn't been counting on it.

"Okay," Arizona said, taking a deep breath and kneeling in front of Callie, Callie's ring in her hand. "Calliope Torres," she began. "I think a part of me has been in love with you since I was 14 years old."

Callie chuckled lightly; Arizona had filled her in on all of her teenage fantasies of Callie. Callie still didn't quite understand why Arizona had seen her as such a role model, but she certainly didn't mind the attention.

"From the first second I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were someone very special. And I'm so thankful that I was given the chance to meet you for real, because you are truly the most miraculous, awe-inspiring, beautiful woman that has ever existed in this crazy galaxy of ours. I love you so much, and I count myself blessed to be able to share my life with such an incredible woman. So," Arizona said, her face breaking into a stunning smile. "Will you marry me, Callie?"

"Yes," Callie said excitedly, holding out her hand for Arizona to slip her ring on. Once it was in place, Arizona mimicked Callie's earlier actions by leaning down to place a soft kiss on her ring finger.

"We're getting married," Arizona said gleefully as she leaned back to look up at Callie.

"Yes," Callie sighed, her entire body full of excitement. "Yes we are."

* * *

Arizona woke up to the sound of the sea crashing gently against the shore. Callie had reserved the holodeck overnight, so after their "engagement," she and Callie had spent the evening making luxurious love in the hot tub, before finally retiring to the soft linens of the hotel's king-sized bed.

A giddy smile crossed Arizona's face as she held up her left hand to look at her ring. It was perfect. She loved it. And it meant so much that Callie had taken the time to alter it to look good on her fingers, had gone to the expense of using an actual jeweler.

Arizona sighed to herself as she felt a soft breeze blow in from the balcony to caress her naked skin. She was perfectly, deliriously happy. Yes, she and Callie had been engaged for a few weeks now, but this made everything feel real. She was officially marrying the sexiest woman of all time. She was getting married to the amazing woman that she'd admired from a distance for so long. It hardly seemed real.

"Morning," Callie murmured as Arizona felt Callie's lips being pressed to her shoulder.

"Mmm, good morning," Arizona hummed as she turned around in Callie's arms. She was greeted by a sleepy and comfy looking Callie. "You sleep well?" she asked her drowsy lover.

"Mmm, never better," Callie said, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on Arizona's lips.

"Last night was amazing, Callie," Arizona smiled. "It was perfect. Thank you so much for doing all of that for me."

"You're welcome," Callie said, snuggling closer to Arizona. "We've got about an hour before we have to be at work. You wanna get naughty one more time?" Arizona looked at Callie to see a mischievous look on her fiancée's face. Callie was insatiable, and Arizona loved it.

"Absolutely," Arizona said with enthusiasm as she quickly rolled Callie onto her back and climbed on top. She leaned down to kiss Callie's mouth, her jawline, her neck. "Callie?" she murmured as she began snaking her way down her fiancée's body.

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

* * *

"I'm sorry, what?" Callie asked. She looked down at Lexie's screen. She hadn't been listening very carefully to her communications officer.

"I was saying that…" Lexie continued explaining something to her commanding officer, but Callie again lost her focus. There was probably something important happening on Lexie's screen, but Callie found her eyes drawn to the gorgeous blonde manning the first officer's station.

Callie watched, a foolish smile creeping on her face, as Arizona worked diligently at her console. The way her blonde hair was still curly from the night before, the way her lips formed a small pout as she concentrated…Callie was at a loss as to how anyone got any work done when Arizona Robbins was in the room. They'd arrived in Command a little over an hour ago, but Callie's mind was still firmly in Greece with a naked and sweaty Arizona.

"So can I go ahead and get started on that, Commander?"

_Shit_, thought Callie, as soon as she recognized that she'd yet again failed to listen to Lexie. Lexie was looking up at her expectantly, apparently asking permission to do something.

"Umm…" Callie stalled. She didn't really want to admit to her communications officer that she'd completely ignored everything that had just been said.

"Commander Torres," Admiral Kyoto greeted as he strode into the room, followed closely by Tim and a few other intelligence officers.

"Good morning sir," Callie smiled. _Saved by the admiral_.

"I've just received word from the Federation Council. They've authorized us to start targeting the Scarran's supply of Strelitzia."

Callie's face immediately lit up. This was good news. This could mean the end of the war.

"Admiral, that's such good—"

"What?!" an angry voice cut her off.

Callie turned to see a fuming Arizona approaching.

"Admiral, are you serious?" Arizona asked agitatedly.

"Lt. Commander Robbins," the admiral began, "I know that you have ethical objections to this plan but the Council—"

"This is ridiculous!" Arizona interrupted. Both Callie's and Admiral Kyoto's eyebrows lifted involuntarily. Did Arizona just cut off an _admiral_? "It goes against everything that the Federation stands for!"

"Lt. Commander Robbins," Kyoto said, clearly not pleased with the first officer, "this is not your decision."

"But—"

"That's enough," Callie said quickly, trying to stop Arizona from speaking further. Callie knew that her fiancée was angry about this, but raising your voice to an admiral was never acceptable.

"No, Callie," Arizona said, whipping around to face Callie. "This is wrong."

"Robbins, I said enough," Callie repeated, allowing some edge into her voice. She wasn't actually angry at Arizona—she knew that Arizona felt strongly about this—but cutting off Callie, then interrupting the admiral, and then using Callie's first name in the command center? Arizona was crossing a line.

"Callie, tell me you aren't actually happy about—"

"Lt. Commander Robbins, I believe I said _that was enough_," Callie said firmly. She could feel Admiral Kyoto's eyes boring into her, waiting for her to reign in her first officer. Losing control of your crew in front of a superior officer was just…bad. Everyone in Command was staring at them now.

"But—"

"Wait in my office, Lt. Commander," Callie said quietly. She was hoping Arizona would have enough sense to just leave, but Arizona just stood there, looking shocked.

"Lt. Commander, get the hell out of my command center and wait in my office!" Callie repeated harshly. She still couldn't find it in herself to be mad at the blonde—not after the night they'd just shared—but she couldn't have Arizona undermining her authority any more than she already had.

Arizona hesitated for a moment, giving Callie a murderous look, before abruptly about-facing and storming into Callie's office.

Callie breathed a small sigh of relief. "I apologize for that, Admiral," she said, turning back to face Kyoto.

"She's young," Kyoto said, apparently willing to move on.

"I'm not much older, sir," Callie said with a smile.

"No, but you've also never blown up at a superior."

"No, sir," Callie responded. She was definitely more emotional than Arizona in general, but she kept it in check when she was at work.

"Well then," the Admiral said. "Tim says that you and he have been working on a plan to go after the Scarran's Strelitzia?"

"Yes, sir," Callie nodded.

"Let's hear it."

* * *

Callie hesitated as she approached her office. She and Arizona had just had the best night of their lives, and now? Now she was going to walk into her office, where she would probably find a very pissed off first officer.

The door slid open to reveal Arizona sitting on Callie's office couch, watching a Parisses Squares match on the viewscreen. Callie saw Arizona's eyes flick in her direction as she walked in, but Arizona chose to ignore her and continued to pay attention to the game.

Sighing, Callie made her way to her desk and took a seat in her chair. Arizona continued to stare at the viewscreen with determination.

"Arizona," Callie said evenly, waiting for the blonde to acknowledge her. But Arizona displayed no intention to start paying attention to her.

"Lt. Commander Robbins," Callie tried again. "Take a seat," she said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. She saw Arizona make a sour expression, but Arizona finally turned off the viewscreen and approached the desk.

"Do you know where you went wrong back there?" Callie asked quietly, giving Arizona a chance to apologize before Callie was forced to yell at her. But Arizona just remained silent, a look of pure defiance adorning her beautiful features.

Callie sighed and leaned back in her chair. Arizona was normally a fabulous officer, but her temper and penchant for flying off the handle didn't make things easy.

"Arizona," she began. "You can't argue with an admiral. At least not in a public setting. It's just not done." She paused, waiting for an acknowledgement from Arizona, but none came.

"And you didn't just interrupt the admiral—you also interrupted _me_ and disregarded _my_ orders. Twice."

"Callie—" Arizona finally spoke.

"And that's another thing," Callie said, cutting the blonde off. "You can't call me 'Callie' out there."

"You're my fiancée!" Arizona argued.

"Yes. You are," Callie agreed. "When we're off duty. In our quarters. Or out and about on the station. But not during the day, and certainly not in front Admiral Kyoto or other Starfleet officers."

Arizona just huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Arizona!" Callie exclaimed. "You completely undermined my authority out there! You can't do that! Yes, you are my fiancée, and yes, I love you. In every other situation, you're my equal. But not out there. Out there, I am your commanding officer and you are my subordinate. You need to respect and obey me."

"Callie, how would you like it if you had to _obey_ me? If I could just _command_ you to shut up?"

"So you don't think you were out of line at all back there?" Callie asked, ignoring Arizona's question.

Arizona sighed and crossed her arms, looking down.

"Arizona?"

Arizona exhaled, frustrated, before finally looking back up at Callie. "Yes, I was…I was out of line."

"Arizona," Callie said, rounding the desk and sitting in the chair next to her fiancée. She placed a hand on Arizona's shoulder and was grateful when the blonde didn't shrug her off. "I know that it's probably hard for you to just switch gears. A few hours ago, we were having sex, and now…now we're sitting in my office because I threw you out of Command. And you're right, I think I would be pretty miffed if you could just order me around. But…" Callie shrugged. "I don't really know what to do about it. When we're in front of other officers, I need you to afford me the respect I deserve as your commander. You're the first officer. The crew looks to you as an example of how to act. I really can't have you disrespecting me out there. And I also can't have you challenging admirals because you think that being my fiancée somehow affords you a higher position than you have."

Arizona started to chuckle lightly. "I bet you that wherever my dad is at the moment, he's feeling pretty good about himself."

Callie smiled at her fiancée, happy that she was able to make light of the situation. "Maybe so," Callie said. "He certainly has a point—this is challenging at times. But I still think it's totally worth it." Callie paused for a moment when Arizona didn't look at her. "Do you?" she asked insecurely.

"Do I what?"

"Think it's worth it?"

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Calliope, yes of course I do. I just…I'm sorry this keeps happening. I swear, I never got into any trouble with my superiors until you."

"It's okay, babe," Callie said, leaning over to place a tender kiss on Arizona's cheek. "And I hope you know that even though we see things differently on the Scarrans, I respect your opinion. And I love that you stand up for what you believe in."

"Except when that involves disrespecting you or an admiral."

"Yes," Callie said with a smile. "Except for that."

Arizona nodded slightly. "I'm sorry, Callie."

"It's alright Arizona," Callie said, stroking Arizona's hair. "I hope you know that no matter what happens during the day, I still love you, and I still want you to come home at night."

Arizona smiled as she leaned over to rest her head on Callie's shoulder. "I know, Calliope. I'll always come home."

* * *

**AN: If you want to see their ring, it's stock number 990390407 at Kay Jewelers.**


	24. Chapter 24

Arizona Robbins sighed as she stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom. Callie was working late—again. Two months had passed since the Federation Council had authorized the fleet to target the Scarran's supply of Strelitiza, and everyone had been busy. Admiral Kyoto had sent Tim to join the fleet and oversee its progress, Teddy had been locked in her labs working on unconventional ways to destroy the flower, and Callie had been helping to coordinate things from a distance.

Arizona didn't mind Teddy's and Callie's busyness, not really. She knew that they were doing important work, that they weren't trying to ignore her. But still, she couldn't help feeling a little bit neglected by her fiancée and best friend, and, combined with the fact that she _still_ wasn't speaking to her parents, Arizona was feeling a little lonely. And it was hard to fall asleep when Callie wasn't there with her—Arizona had gotten so accustomed to drifting off in the warmth and security of her fiancée's embrace.

Arizona let out an annoyed groan as she turned to her other side. She just wanted to sleep. Reaching over to grab Callie's pillow, she pulled it close to her and snuggled it. It was a poor substitute for her deliciously curvy fiancée, but at least it smelled a little bit like her. Arizona's lips formed a small pout. She really wished she was cuddling Callie, not Callie's pillow.

Arizona was about ready to just give up and head to the couch to watch some sports when she heard the door slide open. A smile was immediately on her face, and she bounded out of bed to greet her fiancée.

"Hi Callie!" she called cheerfully as she threw her hands around the other woman. Callie's body was stiff, and Arizona felt Callie trying to weakly hug her back. "Callie?" she said, leaning back with a confused look on her face.

Callie looked stricken. Her eyes were filled with tears and her expression was one of sorrow and dread.

"Callie, what is it?" Arizona asked quietly, a million possibilities racing through her mind. One of Callie's parents? Michael? Aria? The kids? "Callie," Arizona repeated, hugging her fiancée tightly. "What's happened?"

When Callie didn't respond, Arizona carefully led her towards the couch. Callie rested her hands in her head, and Arizona could tell she was working up the courage to say something. "Darling, what is it?" Arizona asked again, massaging Callie's back.

"Arizona, there was…" Callie paused to regain her composure. "There was a battle."

Arizona nodded, urging Callie to continue with her eyes.

"There was a battle," Callie continued. "And, and…Arizona…" Callie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "And, and…Timothy," she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Arizona immediately felt her stomach twist into what felt like a thousand knots. Callie wasn't in shock because something had happened to _her_ family—she was in shock because something had happened to Arizona's. Arizona closed her eyes and swallowed. This couldn't be happening.

"Is…is he dead?" Arizona asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Callie finally turned her eyes to make contact with Arizona's, and then it hit her with massive force. There it was, written plainly in Callie's sorrowful eyes. Her brother was dead. Timmy was dead.

* * *

"Arizona?" Callie asked quietly. Callie had just delivered the news that Tim was dead, and Arizona hadn't reacted. Callie wasn't sure that Arizona had heard her. Arizona just sat, still as a statue, and stared vacantly at the coffee table. Callie didn't know what to do. She'd been prepared for Arizona to collapse into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Or for Arizona to pace around the room, blaming the Federation Council and their orders to go after the Strelitzia. But no words, no movement, no expression? Callie didn't know how to handle that.

"Arizona?" Callie repeated, reaching over to place a hand on her fiancée's shoulder. But apparently Arizona wasn't completely zoned out, because she quickly held a hand up to halt Callie's movements. "Sorry," Callie mumbled as she retracted her hand.

Arizona's gaze left the coffee table, and she slowly exhaled and rubbed her face with her hands. Callie sat, waiting patiently for Arizona to say something, but she didn't. Instead she abruptly stood up and entered the bedroom.

So Callie sat, dumbfounded, on the couch. Should she follow Arizona? Did Arizona want space? Callie knew that if Aria was dead, she'd want as many family members as possible around. But Arizona was different. Did she just want to be alone?

Callie's eyebrows involuntarily rose when she heard the telltale sound of the sonic shower being activated. Arizona was taking a shower? Callie had just told her that her brother was dead, and she was filled with the urge to take a shower? Callie hesitated, still not knowing whether Arizona wanted her company or not. But this was awful, and Callie didn't want Arizona to be alone, so she slowly stood from the couch and headed after her fiancée.

"Arizona?" Callie asked carefully as she poked her head into the shower. Her heart broke in two when she saw a naked Arizona huddled and shaking in the corner. "Oh, sweetie," Callie exclaimed, quickly stripping off her uniform and stepping into the shower to sit next to Arizona. "Come here," she said, pulling the blonde close to her. Arizona was soaking all over, but Callie could still tell that the moisture on her fiancée's face wasn't just from the shower—Arizona was crying. "I've got you, sweetheart, I've got you," Callie soothed, hugging Arizona tightly and caressing her soaked hair.

Arizona still didn't say anything, but she welcomed Callie's touch this time and buried her face in Callie's neck and shoulder. Callie did her best to calm the blonde down—she was shaking uncontrollably and on the verge of hyperventilating. "Computer, increase the temp a bit," Callie said, worried that Arizona was cold. After a few minutes, Arizona was still clinging to Callie for dear life, but her shaking had ceased and her breathing was closer to normal. "I'm so, so, sorry, Arizona," Callie breathed quietly into Arizona's ear. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Arizona stood still in the bathroom as Callie gently dried her off and put her pajamas back on her.

"Come on, babe," she heard Callie say quietly, and she felt her hand being tugged in the direction of the bedroom. After gently helping Arizona get back into bed, Callie quickly dressed in her own pajamas and slid into bed, snuggling up to Arizona and wrapping her arms around her.

They laid in silence for a few minutes before Arizona finally found the energy to speak.

"How…how did he die?" she asked. For some reason, her voice sounded strange, like it hadn't come from her own body.

"His ship was boarded," she heard Callie reply. "He uh, he was with the ship's captain and first officer, trying to help everyone get evacuated. One of the Scarrans shot at the captain, and Tim jumped in front of him to take the hit. He died instantly."

Arizona felt herself nod. "So…so he didn't feel any pain?"

"No, baby," she heard Callie answer gently. "He likely didn't feel any pain, and he died a hero. That captain made it out alive."

"My…my parents?"

"Admiral Kyoto is going to tell them."

"Okay."

They were quiet for a few more minutes, Arizona just drawing comfort from Callie's touch. Her brain wasn't processing. She knew, of course, that Commander Timothy Robbins was dead. But she couldn't quite believe it, experience it. It didn't seem real.

"Callie?" she heard her voice say again.

"Yeah?"

"Can you…can you put me out, please? Just give me something?"

"Yeah," she heard Callie reply. Callie pulled away and got out of bed, and Arizona immediately regretted her absence. She hadn't realized how much she'd been relying on Callie's arms being wrapped around her. Thankfully, Callie returned just as quickly as she'd left, and her arms were soon snug around Arizona's waist again.

"Night sweetheart," she heard Callie say before she felt a hypospray being held to her neck.

"Night, Calliope."

* * *

"Commander Torres," Admiral Daniel Robbins said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you. Where is my daughter?"

"She's still sleeping," Callie responded to the man on the viewscreen. The computer had informed her that Arizona had an incoming call from Daniel and Barbara Robbins, but Callie hadn't had the heart to wake her fiancée, so she'd decided to answer the call herself.

"Really?" Barbara asked, concerned. "That's late for her."

Callie nodded. Arizona was usually the early riser of the two of them, so it was unusual that it was nine o'clock and Arizona was still in bed. "I gave her a sedative last night, to help her sleep," Callie said. "So that's probably why."

Arizona's parents nodded in understanding. They looked beaten down, tired, distraught.

"I um," Callie said awkwardly. She hadn't spoken with Arizona's parents since they'd so outspokenly disapproved of their relationship. "I'm so terribly sorry about your son."

"Thank you, Commander Torres," Daniel said. "We appreciate it."

Callie nodded. She really wished Arizona's parents would start calling her "Callie," but she figured now wasn't the time to insist on that.

An awkward silence fell upon the room as neither Callie nor Daniel and Barbara could think of anything to say.

"So," Daniel finally said. "Are you two married yet?"

Callie's eyes widened slightly—she'd been expecting Arizona's father to completely avoid that subject. "Uh, no sir, not yet," she answered politely.

"Is the wedding scheduled?"

"No sir," Callie answered again. "Things have been hectic around here with the Strelitzia campaign, so we haven't had much time to think about it. And…" Callie hesitated, not knowing if she should say this next part. "And she hasn't said as much, but I think part of Arizona is waiting to reconcile with you first." Arizona had sworn up and down to her that she didn't care what her parents thought, and that she didn't care if they participated in the wedding, but Callie knew better. She knew Arizona missed her family.

"Well in light of, of…_this_," Barbara said, unable to speak her son's name, "our quarrel with Arizona seems trivial. We, we still have our reservations about your relationship with her, Commander Torres, but it's not worth losing our daughter over."

Callie's eyes flashed towards the bedroom when she sensed movement. Arizona was standing in the doorway, still groggy and dressed in her pajamas.

"Hey," she said gently as she stepped away from the viewscreen to greet her fiancée. She quickly pulled Arizona into a hug, and Arizona clung to her with just as much force as she had the night before. "Your parents are connected," she murmured as she caressed Arizona's back. Arizona nodded and then pulled away slightly.

"Can I talk to them?" Arizona asked. "By myself?"

"Sure," Callie said with a smile, placing a kiss to Arizona's temple before heading back into the bedroom.

"Hey guys," she heard Arizona say stiffly through the wall. Callie knew that she shouldn't eavesdrop, but the temptation was too strong. She stayed close to the door, trying to make out what the two Admirals were saying. They were too quiet, however. Callie could only hear Arizona.

"No, no, we're not gonna talk about Tim," Arizona said in an angry voice.

"Because you guys ignored me for two months! And if Tim wasn't dead, you'd still be ignoring me!" she yelled a moment later.

Callie leaned back from the door in surprise. She'd been expecting Arizona and her parents to grieve together, to talk about Timothy. But it seemed Arizona was only in the mood to continue their fight.

"I know your opinion, and I respect your opinion," Callie heard Arizona saying. "Yes, our situation makes things more challenging, but it doesn't make them impossible!"

"But I've made my choice, Dad! And it's my choice, not yours! That little stunt you pulled with Alan—that was ridiculous! I'm a grown woman. You can't try and control my life!"

"What, so just because I'm in love with someone that you don't think I should be in love with, I'm suddenly not worthy of being your daughter anymore?"

"No, you didn't say that, but you sure acted like it! I am thirty years old, Dad. And I have done everything you've ever asked of me. First in my class at the academy, a senior bridge officer right out of school, first in my class _again_ in Command School, and then a posting on the freaking Enterprise. The Enterprise, Dad! And now I'm a Lt. Commander, the first officer of the most important space station in the Federation. What more do you want from me, huh? I am _excellent_. Any other parent would be proud of me!"

"So what, being with Callie just nullifies everything I've accomplished?"

"Dad, I am still the person that you raised me to be. I am out here, fighting to make the Federation work. I stand up for what I believe in, and I protect the things I love. I'm exactly who you raised me to be. And, and if you can't see that, then I don't want you in my life!"

"Dad, I, I get that. I really, really do. But this is who I am. Callie is who I love. I love her, Dad. I never thought I'd ever find anybody like her. She makes me so, so happy. And yes, I know that the circumstances aren't _perfect_. Okay? Yes, it would be easier if she wasn't my commander. But she is! It's how we met! And I'm not going to throw that all away just because you think it's a bad idea! I'm your _daughter_, Dad. You're supposed to be happy that I've found someone to love!"

"Aaagggh why can't you just get over it?!"

"Dad, I know, okay, I know that you don't change your mind. _You're Admiral Daniel Robbins, and whatever you think is right!_ I know that you are not a man who bends. But Dad, I'm your daughter, and I love you, and you love me. So I need you to bend. I need you to accept Callie into our family. She's the love of my life."

Callie waited anxiously by the door as a prolonged silence filled the living room. Either Arizona's parents were talking for a particularly long time, Arizona had hung up the call and was sitting quietly, or the call was still on but no one was talking.

"Thank you," Arizona said finally, her voice full of emotion. "I love you too, Daddy. Yep. Yeah. Okay, talk to you later."

Callie scrambled onto the bed and picked up a PADD when she sensed that Arizona's call was over.

"Hey," Callie said quietly as Arizona opened the door and walked in. "How'd it go?"

"Good," Arizona said with a nod. "I think um…I think we're gonna be okay."


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Chapter 24 only has about half as many views on it as normal, so either tons of people lost interest in this story, or a bunch of you missed that chapter. Make sure you're caught up :) And as always, thanks for reading!**

* * *

"Arizona, are you sure?" Callie asked as Arizona continued to put on her makeup. "I've got Burke covering Command. I can work from here and you can just take the day off." She approached Arizona to place comforting hands on the blonde's shoulders, but was shrugged off.

"Callie, I really…I just need to work," Arizona said quickly. About a half hour had passed since she'd gotten off the call with her parents, and Callie had been on her non-stop. Asking her how she'd slept, if she was feeling alright, what her parents had talked with her about, if she wanted Callie to make her breakfast, if she wanted to talk about Tim, if she wanted to blow off work and _on and on and on and on and onnnnn_. Arizona knew that Callie was just trying to be supportive, was just trying to be there for her. But it was driving her crazy.

She _didn't know_ how she felt. She _didn't know_ what she wanted. All she knew is that it felt unreal, that she felt numb and confused and lost, and that she just wanted to go to work and do her damned job.

"Arizona, your brother just died. You don't have to be the strong one. It's okay to just stay home and cry," Callie said, again trying to comfort Arizona.

"Callie!" Arizona whipped around to face her fiancée. "I don't want to stay home! I don't want to cry! What I want is for you to stop hovering and leave me the hell alone!"

Arizona saw Callie flinch at the tone and volume of her voice, and immediately regretted snapping at her fiancée. Hurt flashed across Callie's features and she quietly exited the bathroom, giving Arizona exactly what she'd asked for.

Except that Arizona quickly discovered that Callie leaving her alone was the very last thing that she wanted.

"Calliope…" Arizona breathed out, frustrated, as she followed after her retreating fiancée. Callie had moved to her home office and was aimlessly shuffling through some PADDs. Arizona walked up behind her quietly and pressed herself against Callie's back, wrapping her arms around Callie's stomach and resting her chin on Callie's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Arizona murmured, taking a moment to kiss the soft patch of skin behind Callie's ear. "You're just trying to take care of me, and…and I'm sorry."

Callie turned around slowly in Arizona's arms, and Arizona felt a pang of guilt when she saw a hint of moisture in Callie's eyes.

"It's okay, Arizona," Callie said as she pulled Arizona into a tighter hug.

"I just…" Arizona shrugged. "I just don't know how I feel, and I'd rather ignore it and go to work."

"Arizona…" Callie said with a concerned voice as she pulled out of the hug. Arizona could see the disapproving look in her fiancée's eyes.

"I know, I know," Arizona held her hands up in protest. "It's emotionally unhealthy to ignore things because I'll get all bottled up inside and eventually explode."

Callie smirked sheepishly at the little statement Arizona had just recited. "Do I really lecture you that much?"

"Yup," Arizona said quickly. She found Callie's frequent analysis of her emotional health to be annoying, but unfortunately, it was mostly true. Arizona didn't have a lot of in-between feelings. She was either perfectly fine or she was overwhelmed by her emotions.

"Sorry," Callie mumbled, her expression a cross between apologetic and amused.

"Mmm," Arizona smiled as she leaned in for a chaste kiss. "It's okay. Now can we please just go to work?"

Callie paused for a moment, and Arizona was afraid that she might object and force her to go see Owen Hunt or something, but she finally nodded, grabbed Arizona's hand and said, "Okay."

"Thank you," Arizona breathed out, relieved. Without releasing Callie's hand, she marched them straight out of Callie's quarters and towards Command—she didn't want to stick around any longer than necessary and risk Callie changing her mind.

"I wish all of my officers were as eager to work as you," Callie muttered as they stepped into the turbolift.

"Command," Arizona ordered, sending a smirk towards her fiancée as they started rocketing towards the station's top level. Arizona knew probably even better than Callie did how hard it was to motivate the crew to work, especially in the mornings. After all, Arizona handled most of the personnel issues so that Callie didn't have to.

As they stepped off the turbolift and entered Command, Callie gave Arizona's hand a tight squeeze and then released it, snapping back into her commanding officer persona. Arizona immediately missed her fiancée's touch, as she did at this point every morning. But for some reason, today was worse. For some reason, she didn't want Callie to leave her side.

Arizona quietly stepped into her first officer's station, trying to ignore the looks of sympathy and pity coming from Burke, the Greys, and all of the various crew members in the command center. She knew that they meant well, but she wished they'd just mind their own business. Arizona didn't want anybody's pity—she just wanted to do her job.

"Don't you people have work you should be doing?" Arizona snapped harshly after a few minutes. That did the trick. Lexie Grey jumped in her seat and squeaked a little bit, Meredith and Burke just looked down at their consoles, and the remaining crew members scattered. _Finally_, Arizona thought as she settled into her work. She had some personnel transfers to approve, a few disciplinary actions to review, a dispute between two businesses on the Promenade to mediate, and a colony development strategy luncheon to organize. Plenty to do. Plenty to keep her mind off of…

_Tim_.

Arizona swallowed hard and tried to dive into personnel reports, but images kept flashing through her mind. Eight-year-old Tim and six-year-old Arizona playing hide-and-go-seek in some cargo bay they weren't supposed to be in on some ship their parents were stationed on. She and Tim stealing a shuttle off of the USS Roanoke and getting tractored back into the shuttlebay by a _very_ angry Captain Barbara Robbins. Tim hugging her in their quarters whenever their ship was under attack, Arizona hugging him when the chief engineer's daughter didn't want to go on a date with him. Tim taking her to her very first club when she arrived at Starfleet Academy. Tim consoling her when Joanne broke up with her. Tim watching her graduate from the academy, walking up to her in his handsome dress uniform and calling her "Ensign Robbins" for the very first time.

Arizona blinked furiously, confused as to why the personnel reports were so blurry. But then there was a drop of moisture on the PADD, and then another. She was crying. Arizona reached up to brush the tears away and looked around Command. It didn't seem as though anyone had noticed. Quickly sliding out of her station, she walked with her head down towards Callie's office and entered without knocking.

"Arizona?" Callie asked, concern apparent in her voice, as Arizona walked into the office and activated the privacy shade. As the shade covered the window, Arizona rounded Callie's desk, removed the PADD Callie was holding from her hands, and sat in Callie's lap.

"Hey, hey," Callie murmured as Arizona nestled into Callie and started to cry more openly. Arizona could feel Callie's strong arms wrapping around her, could feel Callie start to stroke her back.

"I'm sorry," Arizona sobbed. "I thought—I thought if I could just go to work, I'd be better, but—"

"Sshh," Callie soothed. "You've got nothing to be sorry about, sweetie." Callie continued to rub nonsensical patterns on Arizona's back. "I've got you, Arizona, it's okay."

"No it's not!" Arizona said, quickly finding it harder to breathe. "My brother—Timmy—he's...Callie, he's—he's…" Arizona could feel herself starting to completely crumple into Callie's arms. Her crying made it impossible to catch a breath, and too many emotions were hitting her all at once. Agony over knowing her brother was dead. Fear for how Timmy must have felt when his ship was boarded. An insatiable craving to feel her parents' arms around her. Love for Callie, that led to more fear—how could she possibly survive this without Callie? The thought startled her. She didn't like having to _need_ anyone. She'd never felt like she'd needed anyone before. But she _needed_ Callie. So badly.

Callie wrapped her arms more tightly around Arizona, and Arizona took a moment to just soak her fiancée in. To breathe her in. Arizona let the familiar scent of Callie's bodywash flood her senses. The familiar feel of Callie's smooth, warm skin, the familiar sensation of Callie's hands on her body. It was comforting, grounding, reassuring. Arizona felt like Callie was her only connection to reality at the moment. If not for her, Arizona would be lost in some horrible nightmare where Tim kept dying over and over and over.

"Callie," she sobbed out hoarsely, before beginning to kiss Callie's neck. Arizona didn't want to cry anymore, she didn't want to think about Tim anymore, and she didn't want to think about her parents anymore. She simply didn't want to _think_ anymore. She just wanted to be. She wanted to feel Callie. She wanted her entire existence to be consumed by Callie.

"Calliope," she moaned out. Arizona started to run her hands through Callie's hair, started to kiss Callie's lips fervently, started to grind her hips closer to Callie's body.

"Ari—Arizona!" Callie said with a start, clearly confused by Arizona's sudden change in mood. A minute ago Arizona had been sobbing uncontrollably into her chest, and now Arizona's eyes had darkened and grown hungry.

"Computer, lock the doors," Arizona growled before tugging on the top of Callie's uniform. Going to work hadn't proven to be enough of a distraction from Tim, but Callie—_naked _Callie—would be more than enough. Arizona's mind was already completely overtaken by the thought.

"Arizona!" Callie exclaimed again, grabbing onto her fiancée's wrists to halt her assault. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Arizona said darkly as she freed her hands and took off the top of her own uniform.

"Arizona," Callie said again, trying to hold the blonde back. "I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to take advantage of you in this condition."

"Callie," Arizona growled as she started sucking on Callie's neck. "Does it look like you're taking advantage of me?" Arizona felt her fiancée swallow.

"Nuh—no…" Callie managed to squeak out hesitantly.

"Then make love to me," Arizona said, stepping off of Callie's lap and quickly clearing the top of Callie's desk.

Arizona saw Callie gulp as she moved away from her and sat on the desk.

"Come on, Commander," Arizona said seductively. "Tell me you haven't thought of having your way with me while I'm bent over your desk."

Now Arizona heard _and_ saw her fiancée gulp. Callie's face looked flushed.

"Ariz—Arizona," Callie stuttered, looking incredibly aroused and flustered. "I—I can't, we—we shouldn't. You—you're not in the right state of mind."

While Callie was still speaking, Arizona slithered back off the desk and pulled Callie in for a deep, sensual kiss.

"Are you turning me down, Calliope?" she asked huskily. She smiled when she felt Callie's breath hitch. From where her hand was resting on Callie's neck, she could feel her fiancée's pulse beating rapidly.

"No…no," Callie stammered. "I just…mmmm," Callie moaned as Arizona licked her jawline and roughly teased her breast.

"What was that, Commander?" Arizona said as she released Callie in order to finish taking her own clothes off. Callie just stood, her mouth agape as Arizona stripped naked and tossed her uniform carelessly across the room.

"You were saying?" Arizona asked, raising an eyebrow and sitting seductively back down on Callie's desk.

Arizona couldn't help but smile smugly as Callie's eyes carefully traced every inch of her naked body. Callie looked torn—completely aroused, but worried about Arizona at the same time. But Arizona was hoping and praying that the aroused side of her fiancée would win out.

"I was, well I was, I'm just worried that, that…" Callie stuttered, trying valiantly to doing to honorable thing. Arizona found it adorable, but she wasn't concerned about her emotions. This could only help. Being ravished by Commander Callie Torres could only help.

"Come again, Commander?" Arizona said, interrupting her babbling fiancée. She leaned back on her hands and spread her legs ever so slightly, giving Callie just a bit more of a view.

Callie's eyes immediately darkened, sending a shiver of anticipation down Arizona's spine. She was close to getting what she wanted.

"I, I" Callie was really struggling now. "I—oh, _Arizona_," Callie exclaimed, finally unable to resist the temptation. She lunged out of her chair and was on top of Arizona in seconds.

"Mmm, that's what I thought you said," Arizona sighed in satisfaction as she kissed Callie hard. Callie just smiled at her devilishly as she frantically started to remove her clothing.

"Arizona?" Callie asked as soon as she was naked as well.

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"I'm positive, Calliope," Arizona said, dragging her fiancée's body on top of hers. Nearly her entire being was consumed with lust, but a small part of her was touched by how caring Callie was, how concerned Callie was that she didn't harm Arizona's well-being.

"I love you Arizona," Callie said tenderly.

"I love you too, Callie," Arizona replied. "But now I would _really_ like it if you would show me whose office I'm in."

"Mmm," Callie said with a smirk as she leaned down to kiss Arizona. "You promise to obey _all_ of my orders? Every single one?"

Arizona smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yes, Commander. Whatever you say, Commander."

* * *

"Wow," Callie breathed out.

"Yeah."

"We just…"

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded.

"I'm never going to be able to work at this desk again."

"Nope," Arizona shook her head.

"And we've already ruined my couch."

"Several times."

"Where am I going to work from now on?"

"I really don't know."

Both women broke out into a fit of giggles as they helped each other get dressed.

"Here's your other boot, babe," Arizona said, handing over the last item Callie was looking for.

"Oh, thanks," Callie smiled. "So…you okay?" She'd been trying so desperately hard to resist Arizona's advances. Arizona had a habit of pushing emotions to the side, of trying to avoid things for as long as possible. Callie had worried that Arizona was just using sex as a distraction. Oh, but what a fabulous distraction.

"I'm fine, Callie," Arizona said, straightening her uniform just a tad. "Really. That was…that was just very therapeutic for me. I needed the release."

"Okay," Callie sighed, deciding to accept Arizona's answer for the time being. "But you know you can talk to me, right? When you're ready?"

"Of course I do, Calliope. You're my fiancée."

"Mm hmm, and don't you forget it," Callie said. She walked over to Arizona to place a quick kiss on the blonde's lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Commander Torres?" Lexie Grey's voice came on over the intercom. Normally the ensign would just poke her head in the door, but Arizona had wisely locked it earlier.

Callie quickly gestured to her desk, and she and Arizona quickly took their seats and grabbed some PADDs to make it look like they were working. "Enter."

Lexie strolled into the office, looking completely oblivious as to what had just happened. Callie took a moment to mentally thank the designers of her office for making it soundproof—her fiancée was definitely on the vocal side of the spectrum when it came to lovemaking.

"Commander, you have a priority one signal from the fleet," Lexie said, her eyes shifting uncomfortably towards Arizona.

"Thank you, Little Grey," Callie responded. "Route it in here."

"Yes, ma'am," Lexie said with a nod. She started to head out of the office, but turned to hesitantly face Arizona.

"Lt. Commander, I just want to say how, how sorry I am about—"

"That'll be all, Little Grey," Callie said, trying to cut off her communications officer. Arizona had stiffened as soon as Lexie had started talking, and Callie was pretty sure that she didn't want any attention from the crew about her brother—no matter how caring the intentions.

"But—" Lexie started, confused.

Callie began to shake her head and warn Lexie with her eyes, hoping that Lexie would take the hint. Thankfully, she did, and with a quick nod, she left the office.

"Thanks," Arizona muttered, aware of Callie's efforts to make Lexie go away.

"No problem, babe," Callie said as she rose from her desk and headed for the couch. She didn't really know why, but her entire career, she'd preferred to take calls on the couch. "Join me?" she asked. It wasn't really necessary for Arizona to join her on calls, but she could sense that Arizona didn't want to leave her office quite yet, and Callie was more than happy to let the blonde hang out in her office for the day. Whatever Arizona needed was fine by her.

"Sure," Arizona said, smiling gratefully and taking a seat next to Callie on the couch.

"Computer, answer the call."

Admiral Jennings appeared on the viewscreen, and both Callie and Arizona instinctively sat up a little bit straighter in the presence of Starfleet's Commander-in-Chief. Jennings was on the bridge of his ship, and just to his left sat his first officer, Commander Erica Hahn. Callie felt a little adrenaline pump into her system at the sight of Erica. She'd been to see Owen a few more times since Erica had been on the station, and Owen had explained that what she was feeling was simply her defense mechanisms kicking in, her body's natural reaction to seeing someone who had caused her so much damage.

"Commander Torres," Jennings said with a nod. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Admiral," Callie said evenly. "You remember my first officer, Lt. Commander Arizona Robbins."

"Of course," Jennings said. "Lt. Commander, I was recently informed that your elder brother was among our casualties yesterday. Please extend my sincerest condolences to your mother and father."

"Yes sir, I will," Arizona said with a polite nod. "Thank you."

"Though I hear that congratulations are also in order?" Admiral Jennings asked. "I've been hearing some news through the grapevine about you two."

Callie's eyebrows raised in shock. It was well-known on the station that they were engaged, but she hadn't realized the news had made it off of the _Seattle_. "Um, yes sir," she answered after a moment's pause. She had to fight off a smile when Erica just looked confused. Callie was immediately filled with a sense of glee. Erica didn't know. And she got to inform her herself. In front of Erica's boss.

A broad smile finally breaking out across her face, Callie reached for Arizona's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Admiral," Callie began. "Arizona has consented to become my wife." She raised Arizona's hand to her lips for the faintest of kisses and watched, delighted, out of the corner of her eye as Erica's normally fair skin turned a sickly sour green.

"Congratulations Commander, Lt. Commander," Jennings said. "But I think I can top you on good news for the day."

Callie just smirked. _Oh really_? She didn't see how any news could be better than Arizona wanting to marry her. But then…Admiral Jennings _was _in a much better mood than usual.

"Commander Torres, the Scarrans have asked for a cease-fire."

Callie dropped Arizona's hand and her mouth fell open. This was _soon_. They'd been hoping that they wouldn't have to destroy all of the Scarran's Strelitzia, that after they'd done enough damage, the Scarrans would reconsider whether they really wanted to be at war with the Federation. They'd been hoping they wouldn't have to destroy the Scarran's entire culture. But still—this was _soon_. And amazingly good news. What earlier had looked like a war that could go on for decades was suddenly a war that could be over before it really began.

"Admiral, that's—that's…" Callie was at a loss for words. A happy laugh escaped from her lips. She glanced over at Arizona, who was also beaming excitedly. "That's amazing!"

"I'd like you to handle the talks, Commander. You're the best we've got out here."

"Yes sir, absolutely," Callie said, trying to appear confident. She was confident—she was excellent at diplomacy. But still—the entire fate of the Federation—heck, of the Alpha Quadrant—rested on these peace talks. This was more responsibility than Callie had ever dreamed would be placed upon her shoulders. It was…daunting.

"The Scarran ambassador will be there in about two weeks, Commander, so you should start prepping now. I know I don't need to emphasize how imperative it is that these negotiations go well."

"No sir," Callie responded emphatically. She had already broken into a sweat and Arizona had already placed a calming hand on her knee. She knew how critically important this was.

"Alright then, Commander," Jennings said with a nod. "We'll be in touch."

The transmission ended and the two women were left stunned and speechless. Arizona looked at Callie nervously while Callie just leaned back into the sofa and slowly exhaled.

After a few moments, Callie felt her nervous energy trying to escape her body in form of a laugh. "Holy shit!" she giggled, completely unable to contain the adrenaline that was now coursing through her veins. "Arizona!"

"I know!"

"Shit!"

"I know!"

"I'm gonna freaking decide the fate of the galaxy!"

"I know!"

"We are so screwed!" she laughed.

"Yeah," Arizona said, climbing on top of Callie to straddle her. "But we're screwed together." She leaned in to place a happy kiss on Callie's mouth. "This war's gonna be over soon," she murmured, a radiant smile adorning her face.

"Yeah," Callie said quietly, still hardly able to believe the news. "Amazing, huh?"

"Just remember that I loved you before you saved the galaxy."

"Pfft," Callie scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Callie," Arizona argued playfully. "All the girls are gonna wanna marry you after you send the Scarrans crying back home to their mommies. I just want to make it clear that I've got dibs. I was here first."

"Mm hmm," Callie nodded, leaning in for another kiss. "Yes you were."

* * *

**AN2: Yes, yes, it's probably completely unrealistic for a Commander to be in charge of negotiating the end of the war. Just go with it ;) In my version of the Star Trek universe, all of the admirals know that Commander Calliope Torres is better than them (at everything), even if they won't say it out loud.**

**AN3: My mommy is flying in to visit me (hooray!), which means I probably won't be able to update until sometime next week (poo!). Sorry! But not sorry! Cuz I love my mom!**

**AN4: Also, today marks the 1-month anniversary of this story's existence. Holy crap! Can't believe it's only been that long!**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: I'm back! Thanks for not being mad about me taking some time to hang with my mom haha. We had a great time! Just another couple of chapters until we're all done! Then it's off to babies and fluff! Updates will be a little slower (read: not every day) because I have lots of school stuff going on.**

* * *

Commander Calliope Torres sat in a conference room, nervously tapping her fingers on the table. Normally, when an ambassador arrived on the station, she would wait outside the shuttle bay, ready to step in as soon as atmosphere was restored. However, the ambassador arriving that day was a Scarran. Lt. Commander Yang had made it abundantly clear to Callie that going to the shuttle bay to greet the Scarran ambassador was a non-option—it was a stupid idea to send the commanding officer to greet a species strong enough to kill her with their bare hands.

So instead, Callie waited anxiously in a conference room that had been set up with extra safety measures. To the naked eye, it looked like any other conference room. However, there was an invisible force field running down the middle to ensure that the Scarrans could make no physical contact with the Federation officers. The Scarrans would be escorted to the room by heavily armored security officers and then locked in the conference room so they posed no threat. Yang had even rigged the room with explosives—if things got really bad, the Starfleet officers could simply vacate their side of the room and blow the entire thing to bits.

So no, Callie's anxiety wasn't due to concerns for her safety. She knew she was perfectly safe. What _was_ weighing on her was the fact that she was about to begin what would probably be the most significant moment of her career. Thus far into the conflict, the Federation had casualties of just over one thousand. The war was still in its infancy—Starfleet had yet to engage the bulk of Scarran forces, and they were still on the outskirts of Scarran territory. If these negotiations didn't go well—if the war was allowed to continue, it had the potential to last for many years and claim many more thousands—if not millions—of lives. There was a lot riding on this. A lot riding on Callie's abilities.

She knew she was excellent. She knew it wasn't a fluke that someone so young and relatively inexperienced had been placed in command of the _Seattle_, had been asked to lead these peace talks. Callie knew that there were whispers of her being the future of the Federation, of her being the brightest talent Starfleet had seen in years. So she didn't doubt her abilities. She wasn't arrogant, but she also wasn't falsely humble—she knew exactly how talented she was. But the stakes were so high. She had never dreamed of this much responsibility—she had never _wanted_ this much responsibility.

"Hey." Arizona's gentle voice pulled her away from her thoughts as she felt the blonde's hand squeeze hers in an attempt to halt her frantic tapping. "You okay?"

Callie turned to stare into the questioning blue eyes. "Yeah," Callie said with a quick nod. "Yeah, of course I am," she said, trying to convince herself more so than Arizona.

"You're going to do great," Arizona said, trying to keep her voice down. Admiral Kyoto was on the opposite side of Callie, but it didn't appear as though he was paying attention. "There's no one better suited for the job."

"I wish there was," Callie murmured, emphasizing her statement with a meaningful glance to Arizona.

"I know, babe, I know," Arizona said, rubbing comforting circles on Callie's back.

Callie let out a deep breath. "It's just…" Callie said, turning so she could face Arizona better and block out Admiral Kyoto. "Every time I look at a Scarran, I remember that night, that you…"

"Hey, hey, none of that," Arizona said. "I'm fine. Calliope, we've been through this. I'm alive and well."

Callie nodded. She knew it was true, and she was doing a lot better. Arizona didn't remember anything after seeing the Scarran charging. She couldn't recall the pain, and she hadn't watched the footage from her surgery. But Callie remembered. And a part of her still wanted to wipe all evidence of the Scarran people from the face of the galaxy because of what they'd done to the woman she loved.

Arizona looked as though she was going to continue speaking when the door on the opposite side of the conference room slid open. A sober and alert-looking Cristina Yang entered the room, followed by several security officers and then, finally, three Scarrans. A tall, imposing Scarran that Callie recognized as their designated ambassador, and two advisors. Callie, Arizona, and Kyoto all rose from their seats as soon as the Scarrans entered, and they stood silently watching as Yang's security team left and locked the Scarrans in the room.

Callie swallowed hard as she examined the Scarrans. She'd been around enough of them—she'd interrogated the entire crew of the Scarran spy vessel—but she still felt on edge whenever one was around. The Scarran ambassador stood, glaring at her, while his female advisor was examining the conference room and his male advisor stood at attention.

Callie glanced at Kyoto, who gave her a quick nod. She turned back towards the Scarrans and nervously cleared her throat. This was it.

"Ambassador," she began. She was pleased that her voice sounded a lot more confident than she was feeling. "As the commanding officer of this station, I would like to welcome you aboard. My name is Commander Torres. This is Admiral Kyoto, who will be advising me, and my first officer, Lt. Commander Robbins."

Callie paused, waiting for the Scarran ambassador to introduce himself and his advisors, but he just snarled at her. Normally, Callie would try to be agreeable, would simply ignore the ambassador's hostility and offer some refreshments. But Callie had been around Scarrans enough to know that wouldn't be a good idea—they would perceive that as weakness on her part. No, she needed to be hostile back. They respected power and aggression.

"And you are?" Callie asked, allowing a little edge into her tone. She took care to ensure that her stance was confident, not submissive. She was determined that the Scarrans wouldn't get under her skin. Throughout the entire negotiations, she intended to be an impenetrable bastion of strength. They wouldn't see her back down, they wouldn't see her flinch.

"Staleek," the lead Scarran hissed. "My advisors, Ahkna and Jenek," he said, first indicating the woman and then the other man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Callie said with a tight nod, never ceasing to fix Staleek with a threatening glare. "Would you care to sit?"

Staleek merely inclined his head, and snarled in grudging acknowledgement.

_Oh yeah_, Callie thought. _This is going to be fun_.

* * *

"Hey Troy," Arizona smiled as she stepped into the Santos residence. Michael and Aria had known that Callie and Arizona would be tired after their first day of negotiations, so they'd been invited to a family dinner to help them relax. But as Arizona entered the living room to give a tired hug to her nephew, she noticed that the quarters seemed strangely empty—Troy was the only person in sight.

"Where's the rest of your family, Troy?" Arizona asked as she released the small boy.

Troy adopted a sorrowful look. "Gavin and Hailey were fighting, so Mommy and Daddy are giving them both spankings."

"Oh," Arizona said, startled. She still wasn't quite used to the fact that spankings were commonplace in the Torres-Santos families. She'd gotten into arguments with Callie on the subject on more than one occasion—Arizona had never been spanked, and she regarded the practice as rather cruel and barbaric. But Callie firmly maintained that it was a normal and necessary parenting technique. So they'd agreed to disagree until it came time for them to start their own family. But as far as Arizona was concerned, the topic was settled and non-negotiable—she wasn't about to let anyone lay a finger on her children. Callie could argue all she wanted, but Arizona wasn't going to let _anyone_ hurt her babies.

"Mommy and Daddy were really angry," Troy continued. "Mommy said they were getting bare-bottomed spankings." Troy looked more horrified at the thought of his siblings having to expose their bottoms than having to get hit, and it melted Arizona's heart. She remembered being secretly pleased when Tim got in trouble as a child, but Troy didn't seem to be enjoying this one bit. Arizona saw a hint of tears in his eyes.

"Well that's too bad," Arizona said, taking a seat on the couch and pulling Troy into a cuddle. She'd never tell anyone, but Troy had quickly become her favorite member of Callie's family. He was quiet, but surprisingly perceptive. And he showed Arizona quite a bit of affection—after a long day in Command, Troy was second only to Callie in his ability to calm Arizona down. "How was your day at school, buddy?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

A wide smile spread across the little boy's face. "Good! The language teacher was gone today, so we got double math!"

"You did?" Arizona asked excitedly. Gavin and Hailey showed a normal amount of interest in school, but Troy loved it. She'd often observed Troy reading math and science textbooks that were more technical and complicated than the ones assigned to him. Aria and Michael had already gotten Troy into more advanced classes—he was actually a year ahead of Gavin, despite being two years younger—but it still wasn't quite challenging enough.

"Yeah!" Troy said with a nod. "And then my history teacher said that today was important, because you and Auntie Callie are going to end the war."

Arizona exhaled softly. Troy made it sound so…simple. He looked up and smiled at her, completely trusting in his aunties' ability to end a war. He was a smart kid, but he was still a kid—not quite understanding what war was, not quite understanding that agreeing on and enforcing a peace treaty would be quite an endeavor.

Callie and Arizona's day had been exhausting. Callie had, of course, done most of the talking, but the day had been grueling for Arizona all the same. The Scarrans were hostile, difficult, unreasonable. Their demands were ridiculous and unfair. It was to be expected—of course they would come on strong and Callie would negotiate them down. But the task ahead of Callie was daunting, and Arizona didn't know quite how to support her fiancée through it all.

"Where is Auntie Callie anyways?" Troy asked when Arizona fell silent for a moment.

"Oh, she's on her way," Arizona said, giving Troy an affectionate squeeze. "She just had to talk to the Federation Council real quick."

Troy's eyes widened. "Aren't those the people in charge?"

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded. "They're the legislature for the entire Federation. And I think she was also going to talk to the Federation President."

"Wow," Troy said, still looking quite impressed. "Auntie Callie's really important, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Arizona said with a simple nod. "She is." It still didn't seem quite real to Arizona that she was marrying Commander Callie Torres. It was real enough that she was marrying Calliope, the woman that she loved with all of her heart. But the Commander in charge of the most important station in the Federation? The rising star that had the ear of fleet admirals and the Federation Council? That was still a little strange.

"Oh, Arizona! I didn't hear you come in," Aria called as she entered the living room. Hailey trailed closely behind her, tears drying on her little cheeks.

"Hey Aria," Arizona said with a smile as she rose to hug her sister-in-law. As she sat back down, she quickly scooped Hailey into her arms and gave the little girl extra kisses and cuddles. She knew Aria's parenting style wasn't really any of her business, but she had no qualms about giving Aria's children extra comfort after being disciplined. "Hey baby girl," Arizona cooed into Hailey's ear as she stroked her silky black hair.

"Hi Auntie Zona," Hailey said, squirming out of Arizona's lap and instead nestling into her side. Arizona lifted her arm for a moment to allow the little girl to get situated, and couldn't help but feel even more relaxed. She had two adorable children cuddling with her on the couch—the perfect way to get the Scarrans off of her mind.

"Can I get you some wine Arizona? And where's Cal?"

"Some white would be great," Arizona called to Aria as she left the room, presumably heading to the liquor cabinet. "Callie's on her way, and I'm sure she'd love a red."

"Why do I even ask?" Aria called back. Arizona smiled to herself. She really didn't know. She and Callie never turned wine down, and they always asked for the same color.

"Hailey?" Michael called as he entered the room. "Oh, hey Arizona," he smiled at the blonde. "Hailey," he said, again addressing his daughter. "Gav's in his room. Why don't you two go make up, huh?"

"Okay," Hailey mumbled unenthusiastically as she obediently headed towards her eldest brother's bedroom.

"Sorry," Michael said as he took a seat across from Arizona and Troy. "We had a little bit of a situation just now."

Arizona nodded, not really wanting to talk about it. "Troy filled me in," she said politely.

"Okay, here you go," Aria said as she walked back into the room, a tray of drinks in her hand. "One white wine, for a woman who probably needs ten."

Arizona accepted her wine with a laugh. "You can say that again. The Scarrans were pretty miserable."

"Well Callie was expecting as much, right?" Aria asked as she set Callie's wine glass down on the coffee table. She then grabbed the two glasses she had prepared for her husband and herself before cuddling up to Michael.

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded, sipping her wine. She closed her eyes and leaned back as she allowed the wine to sink into her system. "Mmm, thank you, Aria," she said, her eyes still closed. This was exactly what she needed.

"Mom!" Arizona heard Gavin's angry voice calling down from his bedroom, interrupting her reverie. "Hailey punched me again!"

"No I didn't!" came Hailey's shrieking voice. "He punched me!"

Michael slammed his wine glass onto the table with a little too much force, a little liquid spilling out, but it thankfully didn't break. Aria started to get up, but Michael placed a restraining hand on his wife's shoulder. "I've got this," he said, a large amount of irritation apparent in his normally calm voice.

"Thank you," Aria said gratefully as her husband stormed towards Gavin's bedroom. "Sorry about this, Arizona. Gavin and Hailey have been impossible for the past few weeks."

"It's okay," Arizona assured her sister-in-law. "Tim and I used to fight all the time, I get it."

Aria nodded. "How are you doing with…all of that anyways? With…well, with your brother?"

Arizona sighed. Tim's death was still fresh. She rarely went more than a few minutes without thinking of him. She cried in Callie's arms most nights. But work had proved to be her salvation—they'd been so busy prepping for the negotiations that she hadn't had much time to think about Tim during the day.

"I'm…" Arizona paused. "I guess I'm as good as can be expected."

"And your parents?"

"My parents have never been very good at sharing their emotions with me, but I can tell they're struggling. They won't really let me in though, so I don't really know."

Aria nodded. "Callie's mentioned that they're a little hard to talk to. That you can't get much out of them."

"No," Arizona agreed, taking another sip of her wine. "And I convinced my father to stop actively trying to get Callie and I to um…" she trailed off, looking at Troy. She didn't want to suggest to Troy that there was even a possibility of her and Callie breaking up. It was important to her that Aria's children knew that she was their aunt for good. "Well…to uh, to have a more professional relationship," she continued, knowing Aria would understand her meaning. "But that still doesn't mean he's accepted her. My parents have only talked with her once more since finding out about Tim, and it was…tense."

_Tense_ was an understatement. Arizona's parents still insisted that Callie address each of them as "Admiral Robbins," and they refused to call her anything but "Commander Torres" and to talk about anything of a personal nature. So they'd asked Callie questions about her career, about whether she still competed in sports, and about who she was supporting for Earth's representative to the Federation Council. Callie's relationship with Arizona, Callie's family, and any personal details about Daniel, Barbara, or Tim were completely off-limits. Arizona felt deeply hurt by her parents' refusal to accept Callie as a legitimate member of their family, but she didn't know how to communicate that. So all she could do was hope that it got better with time.

"Yeah," Aria said with a sympathetic smile. "She filled me in. I'm sorry about all of that."

"Thanks," Arizona said as the door to the Santos quarters slid open again.

"Hey," an exhausted-looking Callie breathed out as she stepped inside. "Sorry I'm late! But looks like I'm not the only one!"

Arizona smiled to see a sheepish Carlos and Lucia following their younger daughter into the room. They both seemed a little…ruffled, and from their embarrassed expressions and flushed skin, it struck Arizona that she _really_ didn't want to know why they were late.

"Better late than never," Aria smiled as she hugged her sister and parents, apparently oblivious to her parents' recent…activities. "Cal, your wine's on the table."

"We'll both go for white tonight," Carlos smiled at his daughter when she silently asked him for drink orders.

Callie gave a quick kiss to both Troy and Arizona before picking up her wine and sitting next to her fiancée. "Ugghh," she groaned, closing her eyes and nestling into Arizona.

"Hi baby," Arizona said, patting Callie's thigh in sympathy.

"So Calliope, dear, how were negotiations?" Lucia said, sitting in an armchair to Troy's left.

"Can we just _not_ talk about that?" Callie said. Arizona smirked to herself. Callie was clearly not in a good mood.

"Alright, well how's wedding planning?" Lucia said with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Can we not talk about that either?" Callie groaned.

"Well you've been engaged for months now, and I haven't heard one word about it! You haven't even set a date!"

"Mama!" Callie said, exasperated. She leaned forward to place her wine back on the coffee table. "If you haven't noticed, we've been a little busy."

"You should never be too busy for your family, dear. You need to make Arizona a priority!"

"I do make her a priority!" Callie argued.

"Really, Lucia, we're fine," Arizona said as she linked her hand with Callie's and smiled at her mother-in-law. Their relationship had been taking a backseat to the war, but they were both okay with that for the time being.

"But I want to start planning!" Lucia said.

"Mama, we don't want it to be some big thing," Callie said. "We'll probably just do it in dress uniform, have an admiral do a short ceremony, and have a quiet family dinner."

"Nonsense!" Lucia looked shocked. "You two work so hard! At the very least, you deserve a proper wedding. White dresses, flowers, music, dancing…"

"But Mama, that's not what _we_ want!"

Arizona smiled at Callie in sympathy. They hadn't done much planning, but they'd agreed that they didn't want their wedding to be a large affair. They were anxious to be married, anxious to begin their family and life together. Callie had described her womb as "aching," and Arizona was pretty sure her own womb wasn't far behind.

Lucia huffed in annoyance. "What if it was small, but elegant? Hmm? We could do it down on the colony? They have a lovely reception hall in the mountains, overlooking a stream. I could take care of everything—all you'd have to do is pick out your dresses."

"Mama…" Callie groaned.

"Please, Calliope?" Lucia pressed. "And Aria could help me. To make sure that it fits your personalities and that I don't go overboard."

"Thank you for volunteering me, mother," Aria said sarcastically before taking another sip of her wine.

Lucia rolled her eyes at her elder daughter before returning her gaze to Callie and Arizona. "Please, girls? You may not care about your wedding, but I do! I want it to be special!"

"Mama, it'll be special no matter what!" Callie contended. "It'll be special because Arizona and I will be promising our lives to each other!" Callie turned to look into Arizona's eyes, and Arizona couldn't help but melt into her fiancée's chocolate brown eyes. She'd already promised her undying devotion to Callie, but she couldn't wait to do it "for real" at their wedding.

"But why can't you just—"

"Lucia, darling," Carlos finally piped up. He and Troy had remained silent for the past several minutes, quietly observing the women in their family bickering about wedding plans, but he'd apparently had enough. "We're supposed to be having a nice, relaxing evening. So that our daughter and her lovely bride-to-be can unwind after a stressful day. We can discuss the wedding later."

"Fine," Lucia scowled at her husband. She turned back to Callie and Arizona. "But this conversation isn't over."

Arizona quietly smirked to herself as she took another sip of her wine. Of that, there was no doubt.


	27. Chapter 27

"Mmm, Callie, we really have to get up," Arizona murmured as she squirmed in pleasure under the weight of her fiancée's body. An early morning snuggle had quickly turned into an early morning make-out session. And that early morning make-out session was on the verge of turning into early-morning foreplay and sex, which they did not have time for.

"Few more minutes," Callie mumbled as continued her assault on Arizona's neck. Arizona's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she grinded herself against Callie's thigh and Callie's hand snaked up her body, quickly approaching Arizona's breasts.

"Calliope," Arizona moaned, placing her hand on top of Callie's to halt its progress. Callie grunted in disappointment when Arizona stopped her from reaching her desired destination. "Callie, we have to meet the Scarrans in 25 minutes. And we still smell like sex from last night. We _really_ need to get up."

"No…" Callie groaned, disgruntled when Arizona gently pushed her off and slipped out of bed. "Ugh, you suck!" Arizona heard Callie call as she retreated to the bathroom.

Arizona smirked to herself as she turned on the sonic shower and stepped inside. "Oh Callie…" she called out in a sing-song voice. "I'm all wet and naked in the shower and you're still pouting in bed."

Within seconds, a very naked Callie Torres bolted into the bathroom and joined her in the shower.

"Mmm," Arizona said, leaning in for a chaste kiss. "I thought that would get you up."

"Do you think we have enough time for a quickie in the shower?" Callie asked, a hopeful look on her face.

Arizona took a quick glance at the clock on the bathroom wall. If they were _really_ fast and skipped breakfast, they could definitely make it. It would be close, but possible.

"We'll have to be really fast, babe."

Callie smirked as she pulled Arizona close. "I'm always up for a challenge," she husked in Arizona's ear.

* * *

Callie and Arizona scurried into the conference room at exactly 7:59. _Just made it_, Callie smirked to herself as she took her customary seat at the center of their side of the table. She nodded a greeting to Admiral Kyoto and spared a glance across the room at the Scarrans, who were currently talking amongst themselves.

The negotiations seemed to be going nowhere. They'd been at it for almost two weeks, and so far, had made little progress. The Scarrans didn't seem like they were willing to make any compromises. They wanted a vast expanse of territory allotted to them—a much larger region of space than they currently controlled. The Federation's best intelligence indicated that the region of space the Scarrans were asking for included _all_ of the territories of several other species that the Scarrans were currently at war with. The territory the Scarrans wanted wasn't what they owned—it was what they expected to own if all of their wars were successful for the next two centuries.

Callie had been wanting to take a more aggressive approach to the negotiations for almost a week and a half, but Admiral Kyoto and the Federation Council hadn't authorized her to pursue the tactics that she preferred. However, she was excited and hopeful for that day's negotiations. The Federation Council had finally realized that their sanctioned negotiation style wasn't working, so they'd authorized Callie to do whatever she wanted.

And Callie wanted to attack. Hard.

"Good morning, Staleek. Ahkna. Jenek," Callie said, nodding to each Scarran individually. "I trust you all slept well?"

"These negotiations have been so dull," Staleek snarled, "that I doubt I'll have trouble sleeping ever again."

"Ah," Callie said, breaking out into a smile. "On that, we agree. So in an attempt to liven things up a little bit, I'm gonna tell you how things are gonna be from now on."

Staleek looked less than impressed at Callie's newfound spunk, and out of the corner of her eye, Callie could see that Arizona looked a little surprised and confused. Callie hadn't had time to share her plans with her fiancée; Arizona would just have to go with it and follow her lead.

"I think you'll agree that these negotiations have been going nowhere," Callie said. "So I think it's time that I stop being such a nice girl." She sat up a little straighter, assuming a more threatening posture.

"You, Staleek, are in absolutely no position to negotiate with the United Federation of Planets." Staleek's trademark glare reappeared, but Callie kept going. "As you are well aware, ambassador, we know about your favorite little snack. We know that without it, you're all a bunch of morons, incapable of having any semblance of a civilization. And while you do boast a formidable armada, there is no way in hell that you can stop the Federation fleet from destroying enough Strelitzia to absolutely cripple your society. Your civilization, your technological development, your military power—will all disappear. We won't stop until we've reduced you to a bunch of babbling buffoons, stuck on a few puny little planets while you kill each other in a series of civil wars that you're too stupid to prevent. Oh, and if that's not enough? We'll call up all of the other species that you've currently engaged in unprovoked wars, and tell _them_ about your favorite flower. And they'll start to go after the Strelitzia, too."

Staleek and his advisors were visibly fuming, but Callie didn't feel like stopping. She rose from her seat and approached their side of the conference room, stopping to sit on the table just before the invisible forcefield.

"And that's not all, Staleek," Callie said with a radiant, taunting smile. "I will laugh at you. I'll be sitting here, with my soft skin and my bones that you could snap like a twig, and I'll be laughing at you. Because you will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. There will be no rest for you until you have felt the full extent of Starfleet's wrath. We will destroy the Strelitzia, and then we will destroy your databases, your literature, your society. You will have no idea, no record of who you are or where you came from, and you'll be too stupid to ever figure it out. The Scarran Empire will fall. And sure," Callie said with a nod. "It may take us some time. It may stretch the Federation's forces pretty thin. But guess what? The Klingons? The Romulans? The Cardassians? They all have quite a vested interest in making sure the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant doesn't shift. They will _all_ be out here, fighting side by side with the Federation, to ensure that no one in this galaxy hears the name "Scarran" ever again. And they'll all be laughing at you, too."

Callie was fibbing quite a bit. The Federation had no intention of completely obliterating the Scarrans, and help from the Romulans and Cardassians was a long-shot. But that was the beauty of the Scarrans' unfamiliarity with this region of the Alpha Quadrant—Staleek didn't know any of that.

"So here's how it's gonna be, Staleek," Callie said, taking a moment to flip her hair over her shoulder and smile charmingly at the Scarran delegation. "You are going to agree to a treaty with the Federation. We will respect your _current_ borders, and we won't travel or explore there. And you're going to stop expanding. You're going to stop the other wars that you've got going on with species that have done nothing to you, with species that have no interest in fighting you, and you're going to grow the hell up. You want to secure your borders? Fine. You want to adopt an isolationist policy and have no interactions with other species? Fine. But you're going to stop these wars of aggression. You're going to stop trying to conquer other species. You're going to go home and eat more Strelitzia—because you're clearly still too stupid to see that war is pointless. You're going to learn that peaceful exploration, trade, and diplomacy is how _mature_ societies conduct themselves. You're going to learn that _intelligent_ societies focus on learning, knowledge, and science. You're going to discover that your culture—your people—will be much better off if you aren't constantly at war. You need to stop acting like a bratty four-year-old, Staleek. And I can assure you that you _are_ acting like a four-year-old, because my niece is five, and she displays more intelligence and emotional maturity than you do."

Callie paused for a moment, taking time to collect her thoughts and make sure she'd said everything she'd needed to. By the absolutely enraged look on Staleek's face, she was pretty sure she had.

"So," Callie said with a smile as she headed back to her seat, taking a moment to appreciate the awed and…_aroused?_ look on her Arizona's face. She sent a quick wink to her fiancée before she sat down and faced the Scarrans once more. "Any questions?"

* * *

"Guys, it was the absolute hottest thing I have ever seen," Arizona said proudly as she stood next to Callie in a private room at McDreamy's. After Callie's little rant to the Scarrans that morning, negotiations had turned around quickly. The Federation and Scarran representatives had gone to work hammering out a fair and equitable treaty, and had sent it off to the Federation Council and Scarran Hierarchy to be ratified. So Arizona, Callie, and practically everyone they knew were at McDreamy's to celebrate. Staleek had assured Callie that he would ensure his government's approval, and Callie and Arizona had no doubt that the Federation Council would pass it easily. So that was essentially it—Callie had negotiated the end of a war. A war that could have been one for the ages.

"To Admiral Kyoto, Commander Torres, and Lt. Commander Robbins!" Mark said jovially, lifting his glass. "For kicking the Scarrans' collective asses and for saving ours!"

A bunch of whoops and 'here here's followed Mark's exclamation as everyone drank the toast. Arizona clinked her glass with Callie's and sent her fiancée a massive smile before raising her drink to her lips. She had never been more proud of her fiancée. Callie had been amazing in negotiations. Sure, Arizona had seen Callie at work before, and she'd always been impressed with her abilities, but as soon as the Federation had let Callie off of her leash? She had wiped the floor with the Scarrans. It had been a wonder to behold. The woman standing next to her, the woman she was engaged to marry—was a goddess. Arizona had never seen anything like it.

"Congratulations!" Teddy said excitedly as she made her way over to Arizona and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Thanks, Teds," Arizona smiled. "But it was really all Calliope. All I did was offer moral support." Arizona linked her arm with Callie's and placed a proud kiss on Callie's cheek.

"Couldn't have done it without you, babe," Callie said with a smile. Arizona didn't believe her—she was certain that Callie could have achieved the same result without her presence, but it was still nice to be appreciated.

"So does this mean you guys can finally get married?" Teddy asked. "I know you've been putting it off because of the war."

Arizona again looked at Callie and smiled. "I think so, Teddy. I mean…we still need to get my parents on board, and Callie's mom has really been pushing for a big, extravagant affair, but…yeah. There's nothing really standing in our way now."

"Yay!" Teddy said with a squeal as she excitedly hugged both Arizona and Callie.

"Oh, and I've been meaning to ask you," Arizona said with a smile. "Be my maid of honor?"

A huge smile appeared on Teddy's face. "Only if you'll be mine."

Arizona's eyes bulged out of her head. "You—you and Henry?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Teddy said, shaking her head up and down so quickly it made Arizona dizzy. "He just asked me last night." She quickly held up her hand, revealing a ring unlike anything Arizona had ever seen. It was shiny, and it looked metallic. But at the same time, it looked very plantlike. Arizona had absolutely no clue what it was made of.

"Teddy!" Arizona gushed, grabbing her best friend's hand and holding it closer. "It's _gorgeous_! Congratulations!"

"Thanks!"

As Arizona was again pulled into a tight hug from her best friend, her heart felt full. The Federation would again be at peace. She was marrying the woman of her dreams. Her best friend—the girl that she'd grown up with—was marrying the man of her dreams. Everything was amazing.

Except…except Tim wasn't there. His ashes were sitting in a container in Arizona's closet. Tim should have been at this party. Should have been hugging her and Callie. Should have been congratulating Teddy on her engagement. Should have been planning Arizona's scandalous bachelorette party and getting ready to proudly stand at her side as she indelibly linked her life to Callie's. But he wasn't.

And her parents weren't there either. She'd sent them a message, letting them know that an end to the war was near, but she hadn't spoken to them. She didn't know how to talk to them anymore. Even though her parents were reserved and her family wasn't big on showing emotions, Arizona had always felt close to her parents. She'd always known that even though her parents would never say it, that they were proud of her. That she was the light of their life.

But their unwillingness to accept Callie? It was killing her. Arizona was so wrapped up in Callie, so impossibly in love with Callie, that her parent's rejection of Callie felt like a rejection of Arizona herself. She knew that Starfleet and service and duty meant the world to her parents—especially her father—but she didn't understand why they couldn't see that Callie was more important. That _Arizona's happiness_ was more important.

"Hey," Callie said as soon as Teddy had left to mingle with the others at the party. "Are you alright?" Callie had a concerned look in her eyes, and Arizona didn't recall how long she'd been silent.

"Yeah," Arizona said with a sad smile. "I just…I miss Tim. And my parents."

"I know," Callie said quietly, a sympathetic look on her face. Arizona didn't resist as her fiancée pulled her into a hug. She sighed in contentment as she felt the familiar feeling of Callie's arms wrapped around her, as she smelled the familiar fragrance of her Calliope.

"I love you, Callie," she sighed.

"I love you, too."

"And you really were freaking hot today."

Arizona smiled as she felt Callie chuckling lightly.

"Oh yeah?" Callie murmured in her ear.

"Yeah."

Callie pulled out of the hug slightly so the two women could make eye contact. "You wanna go home so you can show me exactly how hot I was?"

"Mm hmm."

"K," Callie said. She placed a hand on the small of Arizona's back, and Arizona gladly let her fiancée lead her out of the bar.

* * *

**AN: So, I didn't really know how to write that negotiation scene. Sorry if it seems too "easy" of a solution. But the main point I was trying to get across is that Callie pwns the Scarrans.**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: I only recently updated, and I was gonna just save this chapter for tomorrow or the day after, but I can't help myself! Gotta post it! So make sure that you're caught up…this chapter won't make a lot of sense if you haven't read Chapter 27.**

* * *

"Callie," Arizona said, striding into her fiancée's office. "Aurora is asking for us to allocate 50 additional crewmen.

"Again?!" Callie asked, incredulously. "We've practically lent them half of our crew!"

"I know, but they're expanding so fast, and they don't have enough labor to meet demand."

Callie leaned back in her desk chair and released a deep breath. Arizona waited quietly for her fiancée to make a decision.

Almost four months had passed since the end of the Scarran conflict, officially dubbed "The Strelitzia War" in Federation history textbooks, and the population of the _Seattle_ and the colony on the world below were booming as a result. The treaty with the Scarrans had opened up a lot of territory to the Federation. Callie had overseen peaceful first contact with three additional species, and the Delvians were in the process of joining the Federation. More and more colonists were moving into the region, and Aurora Colony was simply having trouble keeping up.

"They really just need the additional crew for the next week until the next ship arrives," Arizona added when Callie just sat there, looking frustrated. "Then they should be good to go."

Callie's face paled at Arizona's mention of the next ship arriving. Arizona's parents were arriving on that ship, and Callie had already been having trouble sleeping for two weeks because she was so nervous.

Arizona hadn't really discussed a whole lot with her parents. Daniel and Barbara had been long-time instructors at the Starfleet Academy campus on Earth, but, much to Callie and Arizona's surprise, had accepted the responsibility of opening a campus in the rapidly-growing Aurora Colony. It was going to be a pilot program—it would only become a full-blown campus if things went well for the first few years.

Arizona didn't know what to make of her parent's imminent arrival. They still weren't very warm towards Callie, but she thought that their willingness to come this far away from Earth _had_ to be a good sign. Her parents were acting as though this was a simple career move, but Arizona knew better. She was hopeful that this was their way of making amends. That this signified that they wanted to be a part of Arizona's new family, that they wanted to be present in her life and the lives of Callie and any grandchildren that might come along. So while she shared some of Callie's anxiety, Arizona was also excited. She hadn't seen her parents in well over a year, and she missed them. And with their arrival, maybe she could finally do something with Tim's ashes. She didn't want them to stay in her closet indefinitely.

"Okay, go ahead and give them the crew," Callie said after a few moments. "But I want them back as soon as possible. And make it clear to them that this is getting old. I want to help them as much as possible, but I also have a station to run here."

"K," Arizona nodded. "And uh…" Arizona trailed off. She really didn't want to say this next part. "And, um, your mom called again."

Arizona cringed as Callie let out a loud, frustrated groan and started banging her head against her headrest.

"What does she want _now_?!" Callie hissed.

"She really wants us to decide on a color for the dresses and flowers. Pretty much everything else is finalized."

When Callie and Arizona had found out that Arizona's parents would be moving to the Aurora Colony, their hopes for a quick and easy wedding had gone out the window, as Arizona wanted her parents to attend the wedding. And as long as they were waiting for Arizona's parents to make the three month journey, Lucia had happily suggested that she might as well plan them a wedding in the meantime. Callie had adamantly refused, but Arizona had been able to gently talk her down over the course of a few weeks, and Lucia Torres had been in a wedding planning flurry ever since.

"Arizona, I don't give a flying shit what color the dresses are!" Callie shouted angrily.

"Okay," Arizona said calmly. "Then why don't we go with that blueish-purple color? It looks great on Aria and Hailey, and it's not bad on Teddy, either."

"Fine, whatever," Callie said, angrily chucking a stress ball across the room.

"And she wants us to decide between chicken and fish."

"Arizona…" Callie growled.

"Let's do chicken," Arizona said evenly.

"I. Don't. Care."

"Callie…" Arizona said gently, trying to coax her fiancée down.

"Arizona!" Callie cut her off, standing up from her desk chair. "I don't care! Okay? I don't freaking care! I don't care about colors, or dishes, or music, or reception halls, or flowers, or dresses, or party favors. Okay? The only thing I care about is that we actually, finally get married. That's it!"

"Okay," Arizona said with a nod and a sigh. She was trying to be understanding—she really was—but she wished that Callie could care at least a _little_ bit more about the wedding planning. Arizona personally thought that Lucia was a godsend (though she'd never tell Callie that), and she was thrilled with the wedding day that Lucia had thrown together. Arizona had bonded considerably to her mother-in-law over all the planning, and she wanted Callie to be a part of it. She wanted their wedding day to be special to Callie, too.

"Oh, now _what?_" Callie asked, apparently having noticed Arizona's disappointment.

Arizona shook her head. "Nothing," she replied quickly. As much as she wanted Callie to care, she also didn't want to aggravate her fiancée further.

"Arizona…" Callie pressed, clearly not believing Arizona's dismissal.

"I just…" Arizona let out a sigh. "A part of me wishes you would care more. But it's okay that you don't—I'll get over it."

"Who are you, my mother?" Callie snapped. "I'm not excited enough for her, and now I'm not excited enough for you either?"

Arizona bristled when Callie compared her to Lucia. Arizona loved Lucia, and she knew that Callie did, too. But Callie and her mother frequently clashed, and Arizona didn't want Callie likening her to the matriarch of the Torres clan.

"Calliope, do not compare me to your mother," Arizona said coldly.

"Why not?" Callie fumed. "You and her are so attached at the hip lately, I can hardly tell you apart!"

"That's not really saying much, seeing as how you've been acting so bratty and immature lately. The only way to tell you apart from Hailey is your height!"

"Excuse me?" Callie said, raising her eyebrows.

"You heard what I said." Arizona knew that this was a pointless spat, that Callie was just picking a fight because she was frustrated. But backing down from a fight wasn't a trait contained in the Robbins gene pool.

"Do I need to remind you _whose office you're in_?" Callie hissed.

"Oh, Callie, really? You're going to play the commanding officer card when we're having a fight about _our wedding_?"

"Just get out!" Callie bellowed, pointing violently towards the door.

"No!"

"What do you mean _no_?"

"I mean that I'm not going to let you kick me out of your office because you know I'm right and you're just too pissy to admit it!"

Arizona just smirked to herself as Callie stood there, mouth agape. Yes, Commander Callie Torres was one of the Federation's best negotiators when it came to conflicts with alien species, but that didn't mean that Arizona couldn't hold her own against Callie in a personal argument.

"Cat got your tongue?" Arizona sassed out after Callie was quiet for a few moments.

Callie huffed in anger and again sat down at her chair, resting her head on her desk. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"What was that?" Arizona wasn't about to let Callie get away with a half-assed apology.

"I'm sorry," Callie said more clearly.

"Apology accepted," Arizona said, quietly taking a seat in front of Callie's desk.

"I just…" Callie started, exhaustion seeping out of her. "I'm just sick of this. I'm sick of my family, I'm sick of your family, and I'm sick of this stupid wedding. Sometimes I just want to resign from Starfleet, stock a shuttle with a shit ton of food, and run away with you."

Arizona smiled as she reached across the desk to place a hand on top of Callie's. "Three weeks, baby," she said, patting Callie's hand gently. "We've just got to get through the next three weeks."

* * *

Callie fidgeted nervously in her new kitchen as she waited for Arizona and her parents to arrive. She and Arizona had finally moved in together, and they'd done some shuffling and rearranging of the residential deck. Their shared quarters now had two levels, and were comprised of five bedrooms, a kitchen with eating area, a formal dining room, an expansive living room, a smaller family room, and an office. Arizona had spent a considerable amount of time and effort to decorate the quarters nicely, and it really felt like a home. Callie was anxious to get their family started—to work on filling those extra bedrooms up with babies, but they had to get married first.

She had to meet Arizona's parents first.

Which was why Callie found herself pacing in her kitchen. She'd cooked the meal herself, wanting to treat the Robbins to a Torres family trademark. There were enchiladas, fajitas, and chimichangas; several kinds of salads; a variety of rice and beans; and some flan and churros for dessert. Arizona had said that her parents enjoyed Mexican food, so Callie had prepared a feast. Arizona had suggested that Callie had gone overboard, but Callie didn't know what else to do. So all of her nervous energy had come out in the form of food.

Callie felt herself stop breathing as she heard the outside door slide open. They were here, in her quarters. Admirals Daniel and Barbara Robbins, Arizona's parents, were standing in her living room. Arizona had left about 15 minutes prior to fetch them from the docking bay, and now they were here.

"Let me show you guys to the guest room," Callie heard her fiancée saying in the other room. Callie felt herself starting to breathe again—Arizona had just bought her another five minutes or so until she had to meet the in-laws. Daniel and Barbara had a house being built for them on the planet below, but Arizona had invited them to spend a few days on the station before they headed down to Aurora, and they'd accepted. Which meant that Callie got to have her somewhat hostile in-laws sleeping across the hall.

Callie grabbed her margarita glass and took a few large gulps as she heard the Robbins making their way upstairs to the bedrooms. Then she headed to the dining room to recheck everything for the fifth time.

"Hey."

Callie jumped with a start and looked to see Arizona poking her head into the dining room.

"You doing okay in here?" Arizona asked as she walked into the room. Callie was immediately relieved to see that no one was following her.

Callie swallowed hard and nodded, not quite able to form words at the moment. Arizona approached her with a knowing smile and pulled her into a hug.

"You're gonna do great, Callie," she murmured. "They're just upstairs getting settled in now, but they'll be down in a few minutes."

"Are they good?" Callie asked. "Is it good to see them?"

A huge smile broke across Arizona's face. "It's _amazing_ to see them, Calliope. I knew that I missed them, but I had no idea how much."

"Good," Callie smiled. She was nervous as hell, but she was also excited for her fiancée. She wanted Arizona to enjoy having her parents stay with them.

"Everything smells amazing," Arizona said, looking at the massive spread that Callie had set up on the table. "It was so nice of you to cook."

"Even if I made enough to feed ten people and there are only four of us?"

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded, leaning in to place the gentlest of kisses on Callie's lips. "They're gonna love you Callie," she said, placing her hands on Callie's hips and deepening the kiss.

_Yeah, right_, Callie thought to herself as she welcomed Arizona's soft lips. She still hadn't been successful in getting Arizona's parents to call her by her first name, and she was pretty sure she wasn't just imagining Daniel's glares on the viewscreen.

"Arizona?"

Callie panicked and roughly threw Arizona off of her when a foreign voice interrupted their kiss. She turned, horrified, to see Barbara Robbins standing just inside the dining room.

"Oh, I'm sorry, girls," Barbara said. Callie couldn't tell whether Arizona's mother looked embarrassed or amused—probably a combination of both. _At least she's not angry._

"That's fine, Mom," Arizona said with a giggle. She stepped back towards Callie and put her hands on Callie's upper arm. "Mom," she said excitedly, "This is her. This is Callie!"

Barbara smiled politely as she approached Callie. Callie tried to breathe normally as she wracked her brain to remember how to speak words.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Commander Torres," Barbara said, extending her hand for a polite handshake.

"Likewise, Admiral," Callie managed to squeak out.

"Okay," Arizona said reproachfully. "You guys are going to be related in two weeks. Don't you think it's time you were on a first name basis?"

Barbara and Callie both looked at Arizona awkwardly, neither one of them wanting to be the one to take the initiative.

"Mom, would you prefer for Callie to call you Barbara, or Mom?" Arizona asked her mother, forcing the issue.

"Barbara will be fine."

"Okay," Arizona nodded, giving Callie's hand a reassuring squeeze. Callie managed to send a weak smile to her fiancée. This was already more tense than she would have liked, and Daniel Robbins had yet to appear. Callie found herself secretly wishing for an urgent page from Lexie Grey, calling her back to Command. In the command center, Callie was in complete control. But here, in her quarters, under the weight of Arizona's mother's scrutinizing gaze? She felt like she was three feet tall.

"Well, uh, _Callie_," Barbara said, emphasizing the use of Callie's first name. "Arizona says you are an incredible cook, and this all looks delicious."

"Thank you," Callie said nervously. "It's a uh, it's a family recipe."

"Ah," Barbara nodded as Daniel entered the room. Callie immediately felt her entire body stand at attention. Neither of Arizona's parents was _easy_ to be around for Callie, but Daniel was far more intimidating. Callie got the general sense that Barbara was more easy going, and simply followed her husband's lead.

"Commander Torres," he said confidently, striding up to Callie and firmly shaking her hand. "Rumor among the admirals has it that you're due for a promotion shortly. Congratulations again for your excellent work with the Scarrans."

"Uh," Callie blinked. "Um, thank you, sir." She hadn't heard anything about getting a promotion, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities. She would be quite young to be a Captain, but it wouldn't be entirely unheard of.

"I can already tell that it's a very impressive station that you're running here. I'd appreciate a more formal tour later."

"Yes, yes, of course," Callie nodded. She'd expected Daniel to glare at her, to threaten her and accuse her of being irresponsible in marrying his daughter. But so far he was all business. Callie didn't know whether to be happy that he wasn't arguing with her, or upset that he was acting like she was just any random Starfleet officer.

"Dad," Arizona interrupted their little shop talk. "Would you like for Callie to call you Daniel or Dad?"

"Admiral Robbins will do just fine, Arizona," he said, turning to face his daughter with a meaningful look.

"No it won't," Arizona said firmly. She didn't raise her voice, or adopt an argumentative tone, but she was resolute in her statement.

"Arizona," Daniel began. Callie could tell that he was about to start a fatherly lecture.

"No, Dad," Arizona cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. Callie is going to be my _wife_. In two weeks, she is going to be your daughter. She is going to be the mother of my children—of your grandchildren. You will call her Callie, and she will either call you Daniel or Dad."

Callie felt her palms starting to sweat as Arizona and her father entered some kind of staring match. The tone of Arizona's voice had left no room for argument, but Callie had the feeling that it took quite a lot to get Daniel to back down. A trait that, for better or for worse, he'd shared with his daughter.

"Arizona—" Daniel began to argue again.

"No," Arizona said resolutely, cutting her father off again. "This isn't up for debate. You will show my wife the respect she deserves _as my wife_. She will call you by your name, you will call her by hers, and you will treat her like a family member. Otherwise, you and Mom can just go down to Aurora tonight. I'm sure Callie's family would be more than happy to help us finish all this food."

Callie felt her heart warming as she watched Arizona defend their relationship to the admiral. It was the first time Arizona had called Callie her _wife_. It wouldn't be official for two more weeks, but Arizona clearly already felt married to Callie. Callie had to stop herself from squealing and hugging her fiancée.

Daniel stared at Arizona for a few more moments, his face unreadable, before finally turning back towards Callie.

"Callie," he said. "You can call me Daniel."

* * *

"So Callie," Barbara said between bites. "Arizona says that your family lives on the station?"

"Mm hmm," Callie nodded, pausing to swallow the bit of salad she had in her mouth. "My parents, my older sister, her husband, and their three kids."

"And what do they all do?" Daniel asked.

Arizona grimaced as she took another sip of her margarita. Her father wasn't going to be too impressed by Callie's family members' careers. Not a single one of them in Starfleet—the horror!

"Well my dad runs some hotels—mostly beach resorts. He's semi-retired now," Callie started. "My mom's a homemaker, and Aria and Michael are both primary school teachers."

A disappointed "oh" was all the reply Daniel could muster.

Arizona squeezed Callie's thigh beneath the table, lending her fiancée some emotional support. Arizona was proud of how well Callie was doing so far. After the initial tension over what Callie should call Arizona's parents, they had settled down to eat their meal. Everything tasted amazing, and Arizona wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Callie's excellent cooking hadn't softened her parents up at least a _little_.

"And their children?" Barbara asked.

"Gavin, Troy, and Hailey," Callie said with a stunning smile. Even in tense situations, the mention of those three kids never failed to bring a grin to Arizona's fiancée's face.

"Any of them interested in Starfleet?" Daniel asked. Arizona rolled her eyes. She really didn't know why it was important to her father that his future daughter-in-law's sister's kids joined Starfleet. If _everyone_ was in Starfleet, there'd be no one left to actually make up a civilization.

"Uh, well they're still quite young…" Callie shrugged.

"Hailey does like to dress up as a Starfleet Admiral and hang out in her Auntie Callie's office, though," Arizona commented with a smile. "It's adorable. She looks just like Calliope."

"You allow a _child_ into your command center?" Daniel asked sternly.

"Dad," Arizona protested. "It's not like we're a warship in the middle of a combat zone. This is primarily a research, diplomacy, and trade station."

"I'm aware of the _Seattle_'s purpose, thank you, Arizona," her father snapped. "Some of us believe that absolute professionalism and decorum should be maintained at all times while on duty. Although clearly," he said, looking disapprovingly between Arizona and Callie, "some people don't share my view."

Arizona huffed in frustration as she threw her napkin down on the table.

"So is this what it's gonna be like, Dad?" she asked, finally allowing an edge into her voice. She didn't like raising her voice to her father—it generally scared the shit out of her—but she would do it if she had to. "You don't approve of workplace relationships. Yes, we know. You've made that _very_ clear."

Out of the corner of her eye, Arizona could see Callie shifting in her seat, her gaze not leaving the plate in front of her. Her mom looked similarly uncomfortable.

"So, what—that's just it?" Arizona continued. "I'm marrying my commanding officer, which you think is a bad career move, and so we're going to have to put up with this…this…_attitude_ of yours for the rest of our lives?"

"Arizona," Daniel said sternly.

"I made a decision, Dad!" Arizona said, not allowing her father to interrupt her. "I love her. I'm marrying her. And yeah, I get that you don't _love_ that we work together. But it's time for you to just get over it! I respect your opinion, but I disagree. I'm 30 years old. I'm allowed to disagree with you. Callie and I are adults, and we are more than capable of making our own decisions and living with the consequences of those decisions. So will you just…_stop_? Please? I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Arizona," Daniel said quietly. "You say that you respect my opinion, but I'm not sure that you do."

"Dad, what would you do in my place, huh? What if way back when, you and Mom had been in each other's chain of command? Would you have just given her up?"

"Yes," he said simply. "It would have been the wise and prudent thing to do."

Arizona's glance turned to her mother, who didn't appear the least bit phased by her father's comment. And when Arizona took a moment to think about it, she knew that her father was telling the truth.

Arizona knew that her parents loved one another. They were each other's best friend, and they were happy together. They'd greatly enjoyed each other's company for over 30 years, and Arizona fully expected them to spend the next 30 just as happily. But it wasn't the same kind of passionate, overwhelming, all-consuming love affair that she and Callie shared. It was a quiet, stable, comfortable love, and it worked for them. It was all they'd ever known, and they were content with it. It was enough.

"Well, Dad, I guess," Arizona shrugged. "I guess I'm just not like you."

"Arizona, realistically speaking," Daniel continued, her voice calm and devoid of any anger, "you'll want to move on after a few years. Get your own command. Move forward with your career. What's going to happen then? Your mother and I were usually able to get positions on different ships within the same fleet, but I can't imagine Callie will be leaving the _Seattle_ anytime soon. And if you stay here for her, you'll be stalling your career."

Arizona sighed as she considered her father's words. He was right. Career-wise, it would make sense for her to spend another year or two as first officer, and then apply for her own command. There were a few smaller space stations surrounding the Seattle, but she was already over-qualified to run those. The expeditionary fleet had some ships that would be good assignments. But if she got her own command in that fleet, she'd almost never see Callie. There weren't any good options. It wasn't like the center of Federation territory, where there were numerous postings that would make sense.

But what she didn't know how to communicate to her father was that she just _didn't care_. She'd been living for Starfleet for her entire life, born and bred to believe that Starfleet was the reason for her existence. But there'd always been something missing. She'd been searching, in vain, for that something, until she'd finally met Callie. And then it had all fallen into place. Sure, she loved her career in Starfleet, and she was passionate about the mission of the Federation. But she cared about Callie more. She cared about her future children more. Arizona didn't want to live for herself anymore—she didn't want to live for Starfleet. She wanted to live for her family. And if that made her career suffer? It was a price she was more than willing to pay.

"Admiral—I mean Daniel," Callie spoke up from beside Arizona. "I would never want to do anything to jeopardize Arizona's career. I don't really care where we go—we can do whatever makes sense for us."

"But see," Daniel said. "I don't want _you_ to sacrifice your career, either. And being the commander of the _Seattle_? Callie, that's the fast track. You've got the most promising career of any young officer I know. I don't want the Federation to be deprived of your talent and abilities. This thing with the Scarrans proves just how valuable you are. You…you could be Starfleet Commander-in-Chief someday. A member of the Federation Council. Heck, the Federation President. I don't want my daughter messing that up for you. The Federation needs you at 100 percent."

"Uh," Callie smiled. "I'm flattered that you think so highly of my abilities, but…it's my decision to make. And if I have to choose between having some prestigious title and having a life of loving your daughter? I know it's not the choice you would make, but I'll choose Arizona. I'll always choose Arizona."

Daniel sighed and leaned back in his chair. As frustrated as Arizona was with her father, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry with him. He wasn't trying to be difficult, cruel, or judgmental. He'd been brought up to put the good of the Federation above all else. And even though Arizona felt differently, she couldn't fault the man. He was a man of integrity, and he stuck to his principles. Arizona had always respected him. She'd always thought that he possessed a rare form of nobility.

"Alright," he said at last. "I'll try to respect your decisions. And I'll do whatever I can to help you avoid any career obstacles that come up."

He still wasn't quite getting the point—he apparently still didn't understand that she and Callie weren't too worried about their careers—but Arizona felt herself relax as her father finally seemed willing to back off.

"And Callie," he continued. "I hope you know that none of this is meant as a disapproval of you as a person. I'm sure that you love my daughter very much and that you'll be a good wife to her."

"Thank you," Callie said sincerely. Arizona sent her dad a grateful smile at his last statement. It was important to her that her parents genuinely liked Callie. And she wanted Callie to know that her in-laws loved her in their own way.

As Callie set about serving dessert, Arizona took a moment to watch her fiancée interacting with her parents. Admiral Daniel Robbins was a proud man. A good man. A man who claimed to put the Federation above all, even above his family.

But Arizona knew better. She'd never be able to bring it up to her father—he would deny it adamantly. But she knew that some part of Daniel placed his family above his career. He'd been a good dad. He'd been there for her and Tim. And while Arizona was sure he'd be able to come up with some lame excuse if she asked him, she knew that his decision to move to the Aurora Colony was _not_ a good career move. Her father was a powerful admiral. In a few years, he probably would have been made Commandant of Starfleet Academy. But instead, he'd moved three months away from Earth to live in a colony on the outskirts of Federation territory. And there was no doubt in Arizona's mind that he'd done it for her. He'd done it because he loved his daughter, and he wanted to be in her life. He would, of course, never acknowledge that fact. But Arizona knew. And that was enough for her.

* * *

**AN2: Next chapter is the wedding! And the last chapter of this story! Then it's on to babies :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: I am SO sorry for the unusual delay in getting this chapter out to you guys. I was a little bit behind on things because of my mom's visit, and I'm working on PhD so it just gets crazy sometimes. And then my boyfriend came to visit for 5 days, so I was a little busy getting reacquainted with his massive biceps lol. He's always been the athletic type, but he's gotten even more addicted to the gym lately, and I have NO COMPLAINTS about that! *contented sigh* I'm a lucky girl 3 Aaaaaanyways, here you go!**

* * *

"Hey," Arizona said with a polite smile as she and Callie stepped up to the host's station at the front of the restaurant. "We have a reservation for six. It's either under Robbins or Torres."

As the host looked down to scan his list of reservations, Arizona nervously played with Callie's hand. Her parents had arrived on the station the night before, and so far, things were going fairly well. Their first dinner had been a little tense, but that was to be expected. Today, Arizona had managed to take the afternoon off to give her parents the grand tour of the station, and she found herself falling back into a comfortable relationship with them. They had been excited to meet all of Arizona's co-workers, were overjoyed to see Teddy again, and were more than impressed at the sheer size and scope of the _Seattle_. So Arizona was hoping that their good mood from the afternoon would carry over into dinner. Tonight was the last major hurdle to clear before the wedding: Daniel and Barbara Robbins were about to meet Carlos and Lucia Torres.

"You're the first to arrive," the host said after looking back up at Callie and Arizona. "If you'll please follow me?" The young man grabbed several menus and started to lead the two women further into the restaurant. Callie and Arizona had agreed that their parents should be introduced in a neutral location, rather than in someone's home. That way, no one had home field advantage. So they'd decided on Sisko's, easily the best Cajun restaurant on the station. "Can I start you ladies off with some drinks?" he asked once they'd been seated.

"Yeah," Callie said, quickly looking over the drink menu. "We were here a month or two ago. You had some kind of alcoholic lemonade, with some Cajun spices in it?" She continued searching the menu for the drink she wanted.

"Sure," the host said with a smile. He leaned down to point out a drink on the menu. "That's our house drink, _The Sisko_. It's Pimm's No. 1, lemonade, lemon-lime soda, white rum, and Tobasco."

"Ooh, that's the one!" Callie said with a smile.

The host nodded and took Callie's drink menu. "And for you, ma'am?" he said, looking at Arizona.

Arizona handed her menu to the host. "Same thing, please."

"Alright, I'll put that in right away," he said with a smile. "My name is Kyle, and your server tonight will be Stacy. Please let her or myself know if you need anything at all."

Arizona let out a sigh and placed her hand on Callie's as the host walked away from the table. They'd arrived a little early to make sure they would beat both sets of parents. So now all they had to do was wait.

Arizona had coached her parents to not talk about Starfleet too much, and Callie had similarly coached hers to not go on and on about their grandchildren. But with their parents' favorite conversation topics off the table, Arizona wasn't sure what their parents would end up talking about. She wasn't sure that Daniel and Barbara had a whole lot in common with Carlos and Lucia. And she didn't know how _much_ Callie's parents knew about her parents' disapproval of the relationship, but she knew that they at least knew _something_. So she was worried that Callie's parents were predisposed to disapprove of the admirals. Arizona just wanted this dinner to go smoothly. They could meet, enjoy a meal, and talk on a superficial level. No need to get into anything meaningful.

"Callie! Arizona!" Lucia called out as she and Carlos appeared at the table. "So good to see you girls." She leaned down to place a kiss on each woman's cheek before allowing her husband to do the same. After taking their seats and ordering their drinks, she turned to smile at Arizona. "So Arizona, dear, did your parents arrive alright?"

"Mm hmm," Arizona nodded, taking a moment to swallow a sip of her drink. "Callie cooked us an amazing dinner, and then this afternoon I took them on a three-hour tour of the station."

"Three hours?" Carlos asked. "I didn't even know there was enough stuff to make up a three-hour tour."

"Well, they're Starfleet," Arizona explained. "They're interested in seeing a lot of stuff that civilians don't care about. Plus they have the security clearance to go places that I couldn't take you guys even if I wanted to."

"Ah, that makes sense," Carlos nodded. Arizona could tell that he was trying to look interested, but she knew better. Carlos and Lucia hadn't even been on the 30 minute tour of the station—they only needed to know where the best parks were so they could have fun with their grandchildren.

"Speaking of which," Arizona said when she saw her parents out of the corner of her eye, "here they are." She stood to greet her parents and to facilitate the introductions. "Mom, Dad, these are Callie's parents, Carlos and Lucia Torres. Guys, these are my parents, Admirals Daniel and Barbara Robbins."

* * *

Callie watched nervously as her parents stood to greet Arizona's parents. As nothing was a secret in the Torres family, they of course knew everything about the Robbins's reluctance to accept her relationship with Arizona. But while Callie understood that it had nothing to do with her as a _person_, Carlos and Lucia did not. They didn't believe Callie when she said it was simply about Starfleet careers and the chain of command, and they believed instead that the Robbins's had a problem with their daughter. Which meant the Robbins's had a problem with _them_. Callie had begged her parents to be nice, and they'd promised to be on their best behavior. But Lucia had a big mouth and a short temper, and Callie couldn't help but be anxious. She really didn't want the evening to turn into a big family conflict.

"So," Carlos said once hands had been shaken, seats had been taken, and meals had been ordered. "It's nice to finally meet the people that raised Arizona. She's certainly a lovely young woman, and we couldn't be happier to have her marrying our Calliope."

"It's a uh, it's a pleasure to meet you as well," Daniel replied politely. Callie tried to ignore her mother's questioning look. Lucia has already shown her disapproval when Arizona's parents had stiffly shaken Callie's hand instead of hugging her, and now she was clearly put off that Daniel had failed to compliment Callie in the same way Carlos had just complimented Arizona.

"Arizona mentioned that you had quite the tour of the station this afternoon," Carlos continued. Callie smiled gratefully at her father. He was trying his best to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, yes," Barbara said with a smile. "Whoever designed the circuitry deserves a medal. We've of course tested organic circuitry in smaller installations, but for a station of this size? It's quite the accomplishment."

"Is that so?" Carlos asked politely before taking a sip of his drink and sending a look to Callie that said "Help me!"

"Barbara," Callie said with a smile on her face. "You'll have to excuse my parents. They don't know much about the Federation's recent foray into organic circuitry."

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry," Barbara said politely. "I teach Engineering at the academy. So new forms of circuitry are a bit of a passion of mine. But uh," she paused, "I believe Callie said you're in the hospitality industry?"

"Oh, I was," Carlos said with a nod. "But I'm mostly retired now. More important things to do."

"Oh, really?" Daniel leaned in, interested to learn what Carlos' new career was. "What's that?" Callie cringed internally. Daniel was about to be disappointed. By "more important things to do," her father meant being a grandparent and illustrating his own line of children's books for Gavin, Troy, and Hailey. He most certainly did not have a new career.

"Family," Carlos said. "I was eager to retire early so I could spend more time with my daughter Aria's children. And," he said, turning to smile at his daughter. "Lucia and I have already offered to babysit any time for Callie and Arizona."

Callie's eyes widened as Daniel's face turned to rage. "You're _pregnant?_" he hissed at his daughter, grabbing Arizona's wrist roughly and jerking her to face him. Callie felt her body immediately tensing. Ever since Arizona's disastrous away mission, Callie had found herself feeling especially physically protective of the small blonde.

"No, Dad, no!" Arizona explained quickly, reclaiming her arm. "Carlos means that they'll babysit when Callie and I decide to have children."

"Why would it be a problem if she _were_ pregnant?" Lucia asked once Daniel's face had softened a bit. Callie sent her mother a warning look, pleading with her not to get into this.

"The timing isn't right," Daniel said authoritatively, as if there was no room to argue. "I instructed both of my children to not have children of their own until they made Captain."

"But I thought you said you were going to have children right away," Carlos said to Callie, sending her a confused look.

Callie took a moment to send a sideways look to Arizona. Arizona looked just as freaked out as Callie felt. This was not _at all_ the way they wanted the evening to go.

"Well, uh, we umm, we…" Callie stuttered.

"Dad," Arizona said, placing a calming hand on Callie's thigh while she turned to address her father. "Callie and I really want children _soon_, so we've decided to get pregnant not too long after the wedding."

"Arizona," Daniel growled, shaking his head.

"Your daughter wants to give you a grandchild, Daniel," Lucia butted in. "You should be happy about this!"

"Mom—" Callie warned, placing a hand on Lucia's arm and begging her to back off.

"No, Lucia," Daniel said angrily. "What my daughter wants to do is throw her entire career away. First by marrying your daughter, and then by having a child much too soon."

Callie sunk back in her chair and closed her eyes. There it was. This dinner was now past the point of being salvaged.

"Dad," Arizona said quietly. "We talked about this. You said you were going to try to respect our decisions."

"Your decision to marry this woman, yes," he said, gesturing to Callie. "Not your decision to take on the burden of a child before your career path is set. Do you want to know the statistics? How hard it is to make Captain if you already have a child?"

"No, Dad, we don't need to know—"

"Seventy-five percent, Arizona! If you have a child now, your chances of making Captain decrease by seventy-five percent!"

"Are you suggesting that something as trivial as a _rank_ should have any impact on bringing another _child_ into the galaxy?" Lucia asked, clearly incensed.

"Trivial?!" Daniel asked incredulously. "Did you just say that my daughter obtaining the rank of Captain is a _trivial_ matter?"

"Okay, that is ENOUGH!" Callie said loudly, slamming her fist on the table, standing from her seat, and snapping into "Commander Torres" mode. She'd been glancing around the room and had noticed that half of the restaurant was staring at them. Daniel was leaning forward, halfway out of his chair. Lucia was already standing, her arms crossed over her chest in a challenge to the admiral. Barbara and Carlos both sat in rigid support of their respective spouses, and Arizona had her elbows on the table, her face resting in her hands.

"You are acting like children," Callie hissed. "Arizona and I are adults, and we are getting married. Our careers are _our_ business, and when we have children is _our_ business. _Your_ business is to politely eat your dinner, engage in a little civil chit-chat, and then walk us down the aisle in two weeks. That is _it._"

Callie continued to stand as Daniel and Lucia reclaimed their seats. All four parents were glaring at her, but she was okay with that, because at least they were glaring _quietly_. Arizona's face remained in her hands.

"Okay," Callie huffed, sitting back down. "Now that that's clear, let's enjoy our meals."

* * *

Arizona blinked as light from Aurora's sun came streaming into the bedroom window. For some ridiculous reason, Callie had insisted that they not live together for the week leading up to their wedding, so Arizona had been spending each night at her parents' new house in the colony.

Arizona sat up in bed with a start. The week leading up to their wedding. It was over. She fell blissfully back into the bed, a ridiculous smile appearing on her face. Today. She was marrying Calliope Torres today. Arizona let out a girlish squeal and kicked her legs excitedly underneath the covers. She could hardly believe it.

The past two weeks had been hellish. Things hadn't exactly improved between Arizona's parents and Callie's parents, to the point that the Robbins's were barely speaking with the Torres's. Thankfully, and somewhat surprisingly, Arizona's parents continued to somewhat get along with Callie. Arizona wasn't sure, but she sensed that her father and Callie were beginning to be something that resembled friends. Callie had taken an interest in the Robbins's proud history in Starfleet, which Daniel was more than happy to share for hours next to the fireplace each night.

But as Arizona smiled at the ceiling of her parents' guest bedroom, she couldn't waste time thinking about the uncomfortable dynamic between the two families. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She was marrying Callie. She was _finally_ marrying Calliope Torres, the most amazing woman to ever exist.

Arizona blushed as she recalled that this morning wasn't the first morning that Callie had caused her to release a girlish squeal in a home belonging to her parents. No, that had first happened when she was 14 years old. That had happened when a young Arizona had developed the largest crush known to man on a stunning Academy cadet. That had happened when Arizona had ordered a massive photo spread of a bikini-clad Callie diving after a volleyball for the Academy's beach volleyball team. That had happened when Arizona would lie in bed on a lazy Saturday morning, staring dreamily at the posters, imagining what the dark-haired beauty's personality was like, imagining what it felt like to run her pale hands along Callie's deliciously tan curves. Imagining what it felt like to kiss Callie's mouth, to squeeze her firm breasts, to taste every inch of her skin, to…

Arizona turned over in her bed, trying to clear her head. In addition to Callie's insistence that they not live together for a week, Callie had also refused to fool around with Arizona in her office, and had requested that Arizona refrain from touching herself. If Arizona continued on her current train of thought, she would _not_ be able to keep her promise to Callie. She'd gone weeks—months—without sex in the past without much of an issue, but somehow, Arizona had never felt more sexually frustrated in her life. Arizona had spent the past several months looking forward to their wedding day, but at the moment, all she cared about was their wedding _night_. She needed Callie. _Now._ She sighed as she considered the irony. Fantasies of Callie had given her sexual release when she was 14 years old, but now that she was 30 and actually marrying the woman of her dreams, no release could be found.

As she got up to take her shower, she also sighed at how ridiculous her teenage dreams of Callie had been. Arizona loved Callie with all of her heart, and she still found her to be a beautiful, breathtaking woman. But Callie was also remarkably human. She had less than wonderful breath in the morning. She got cranky and bloated when she was PMSing. She snapped at Arizona when she was tired, and she could be unnecessarily critical of Arizona over the stupidest things. But none of that really mattered. Arizona's teenage crush was long gone, and a mature, adult love had taken its place. A love that could overlook those human flaws and make both of them feel safe and happy. A love that Arizona could feel in her bones. A love that would be celebrated and made permanent that very evening. So as Arizona continued to clean herself off in the shower, all she could do was smile.

* * *

The hair and makeup process was slow-going. Callie couldn't stop smiling long enough for Aria to finish the work.

"Callie, seriously," Aria groaned. Callie's sister was standing over her, looking absolutely stunning in her bluish-purple gown, her hair and makeup perfect as always. "If you could just stop smiling for two minutes, I'd be done."

"I'm sorry!" Callie laughed. "I just can't help it!"

Aria smirked at her as she mixed some more makeup to get the shade just right. "I know," Aria smiled. "I couldn't stop smiling when I married Michael, either."

Callie shook herself, trying her best to gain some composure and hold still for her sister. To say she was excited was a massive understatement. As much as she'd tried to avoid wedding planning, and as much as she still didn't care about the details, she was still looking forward to the day. Looking forward to making Arizona _her wife_.

Just the thought of Arizona made Callie smile, but she didn't quite register the sounds of her sister groaning again. No, her mind was marveling at the course her life had taken. She'd been close to marrying once before. She'd almost married Erica Hahn.

"There! Right there!" Aria called. "Hold your face like that."

_Erica_. Callie had never felt this way about marrying Erica. Sure, at the time, she'd wanted to marry the frigid blonde. But she hadn't felt anything even approaching the happiness that she was currently feeling.

"Callie!" Aria groaned. "You're smiling again."

Arizona Robbins was a miracle. A beautiful, blonde, nymph-like miracle. A strong, noble, passionate woman who stood up for what she believed in and ferociously defended what she loved. A feisty spit-fire who could get herself into trouble, but who would also never back down from fighting the good fight. A miracle. And she was marrying Callie. This marvelous creature with gorgeous blue eyes and perfect blonde hair and sexy legs and flawless skin was marrying Callie. _Arizona_. Callie couldn't stand her some of the time. She certainly knew how to push Callie's buttons and get on her nerves. But none of that mattered. Because Callie loved Arizona, and she couldn't live without her.

"Okay, I'm done," Aria said with a huff. "It's not _perfect_ because you wouldn't stop your damned smiling. But I think it's good enough that no one will notice." Aria turned Callie around to look in the mirror.

Callie let out a small gasp. "It's perfect, Aria." She turned to her sister and smiled. "Thank you so much, it's perfect."

"Good," Aria said with a nod. Now let's finish your hair and get your gown on. We've only got thirty minutes 'til you become a missus!"

* * *

Arizona sat serenely in her waiting room. The ceremony had started just a moment ago. As there were no grandparents to be seated, Hailey had started the procession, gleefully dropping the purple and blue flowers as she made her way down the aisle. Maids of Honor Aria and Teddy, as well as Best Men Michael and Mark, would follow the flower girl down the aisle, and then it would be time for the brides. She and Callie hadn't known who should go first, so they'd asked the computer to randomly select one of them. The task of going first had gone to Callie—Arizona would be the last to enter.

Arizona looked at her parents as they sat quietly on the sofa across from her. She knew this wasn't what they wanted, but they hadn't said an unsupportive word the entire day, and she was grateful. They had been on their best behavior, and had been both helpful and pleasant.

And Arizona felt completely calm. She'd always heard that brides felt nervous on their wedding days—that they started to sweat and panic before the ceremony. But Arizona was relaxed, peaceful. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she was ready. A solemn peace had fallen upon her. She wasn't marrying Callie lightly—she knew that was pledging all that she had, and all that she was, to another person. But she was sure, and she was ready.

"Okay," the wedding coordinator said, popping his head into the room. "It's time."

Arizona smiled in excitement as she stood and linked both of her arms with her parents'. She and Callie had decided that they wanted both of their parents walking them down the aisle.

"We love you Arizona," Daniel said calmly. "And we're proud of you."

Arizona looked lovingly from her father to her mother. The same look of pride and love was shining out of both of their eyes. She was sure that this was the first time they'd ever said they were proud of her for something non-career related. They'd declared their pride when she'd gotten good grades, or completed a prestigious mission, but never just for being their daughter. It warmed her heart.

"I love you guys, too."

* * *

Callie gave a nervous smile to Counselor Owen Hunt, who would be officiating the wedding, before turning to face the closed double doors that she had just entered through. Her parents had just proudly walked her down the aisle, and were now sitting, beaming, next to their three grandchildren. Callie took a moment to collect herself as she looked out at the crowd.

Callie and Arizona had gone with Lucia Torres' wishes—they were getting married in a beautiful lodge up in the mountains of Aurora. The room they were in for the ceremony had a wrap-around view of the mountains, and the floor-to-ceiling windows gave the feeling that they were actually outside. The lighting was spectacular, and—Callie had to hand it to her mother—everything was perfect. Smooth, stylish, sophisticated. Classy. Chic. Tasteful. It was absolutely beautiful. And, in accordance with their wishes, it wasn't too big. About 75 people were gathered for the wedding—senior officers and their significant others, some research department heads, a few important people from the colony. Callie would have still preferred to elope. But if she _had_ to have a wedding, this was perfect. And it would get a whole lot more perfect as soon as those double doors opened again.

As if the universe was smiling on her, the doors opened on cue. Callie gasped quietly and a huge smile broke across her face as Arizona came into view. She was stunning. Callie had been hoping that Arizona would leave her hair loose and curly, and she had. Callie's smile grew wider as Arizona started walking towards her, escorted by her parents, both proudly adorned in their dress uniforms. As Arizona continued down the aisle, chocolate eyes never broke contact with blue ones, and the smile on Arizona's face perfectly matched the one on Callie's.

"Hey," Callie breathed out once Arizona finally reached her.

"Hey, yourself," Arizona smirked back.

"You look beautiful, Arizona."

"So do you."

* * *

"We are gathered here today," smiled Owen Hunt. "To celebrate the beautiful love that is shared between Commander Calliope Iphegenia Torres and Lt. Commander Arizona Brooke Robbins. Today, these two women have chosen to become married to each under Federation law, and to commit their lives to each other in love."

Arizona smiled excitedly at Callie as Owen began the ceremony. She squeezed both of Callie's hands and gazed adoringly into her eyes. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. They were actually getting married. _Finally_. She listened happily, never letting go of Calliope's hands, as Owen continued, emphasizing the beauty of marriage, the sacred vow that Callie and Arizona were about to take. How marriage took a lot of hard work, but that it was worth it—the benefits far outweighed the costs.

She grinned as both sets of parents stood to "give away" their daughter. She laughed as Hailey stood up and spontaneously gave her permission to marry her Aunt Callie.

"Thank you, Hailey," she said with an amused chuckle.

She smiled sadly as her parents came on stage to light a candle for their lost son. She held Callie's hands as she took a moment on this joyous day to miss and grieve over her brother.

And she felt her anticipation building as Owen slowly but surely made his way to the good part—to the part where she got to pledge her entire being to Calliope. The part where she got to be Callie's wife.

"Each woman standing before me," Owen continued, "has prepared a promise they would like to make to the other. A vow of their commitment and love. Callie?"

Arizona turned her gaze from Owen and back to Callie as Callie prepared to say her vows. They'd agreed on the general content of their vows, and they'd outlined the wording of a few phrases that they wanted to be included, but they'd left the rest up to their own discretion. They wanted their vows to reflect their personalities, their individuality. They didn't want them to be formulaic or recited.

"Arizona Robbins," Callie said, taking a deep breath. Arizona exhaled excitedly and gave Callie's hands a reassuring squeeze. "I love you, and I stand here today to pledge that I always will. I take you, Arizona, to be my wife. I choose you to be the one that I spend my life with. You are…" Callie paused to release a contended sigh. "You are the most amazing woman that I've ever met. You are loyal, and honorable, and true. I have never known someone with such integrity, such pureness of character. I love you so much, and I promise to support you, encourage you, cherish you, affirm you, and be there for you in whatever may lie ahead. I can face anything, I can take on any challenge, knowing that you will be there by my side. Thank you for loving me. I promise to be faithful to you, to always honor you, and to place your needs ahead of my own. Arizona, I freely give to you everything that I have and everything that I am. I love you."

"Calliope Torres," Arizona said, beaming as a result of Callie's declaration. "I love you, and I stand here today to pledge that I always will. I take you, Calliope, to be my wife. I choose you to be the one that I spend my life with." Arizona took a deep breath as she began the unscripted portion of her vows. "I think I've loved you ever since I saw you hitting a Ferengi in the ribs during a Parisses Squares match." Arizona paused as Callie and everyone in attendance chuckled softly. "I thought to myself, 'Who _is_ that gorgeous young woman?', and I consider it my life's greatest joy that I got to find out. You are the most courageous, strong, passionate, and warm person that I have ever met. You love with your whole heart, and you pour all of your passion into everything that you do. I admire and love you so much. Today, I pledge myself to you. I promise to stand by your side in happy times and in challenging times. I promise to treasure you and to esteem you. To reassure you when you feel lost and to cheer you on when you know exactly where you're headed. Thank you for loving me. I promise to be faithful to you, to always honor you, and to place your needs ahead of my own. Calliope, I freely give to you everything that I have and everything that I am. I love you."

Arizona and Callie smiled deliriously at one another as they squeezed one another's hands. They'd just said their vows, just promised everything to each other. All that was left was to exchange wedding bands and to be pronounced wife and wife. Arizona had never felt happier in her life.

Arizona held her breath as Gavin and Troy made their way to the stage, each bearing a ring for their aunties. Gavin handed Arizona's ring to Callie, and Troy handed Callie's ring to Arizona.

"I love you, Auntie Arizona," Troy murmured quietly to Arizona as he proudly gave her the ring. "I'm so happy I get to have you as my auntie for my whole life."

It wasn't scripted as a part of the ceremony, but Arizona knelt down as she accepted Callie's ring from Troy. She wrapped the little boy in a tight hug and whispered in his ear. "I love you, Troy. So much. And I think I'm the luckiest girl in the world because you're my nephew." Troy gave her a toothy grin as he pulled out of the hug. Before waving excitedly to his father and returning to his place at his grandfather's side, he placed the softest of kisses on Arizona's cheek. As Arizona stood up, Callie looked at her with a knowing smile. Arizona had never said anything, but somehow Callie knew that Troy was Arizona's favorite.

Callie and Arizona stepped forward, holding their breath as they lovingly slipped their rings onto each other's fingers. The wedding rings had several diamonds channel-set into the bands, and they made their engagement rings sparkle all the more.

"Okay," Owen said, clasping his hands excitedly. "Here's the fun part." Arizona could barely contain her excitement. This was it. "By the authority invested in me by Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, I hereby declare that Calliope Torres and Arizona Robbins are now wife and wife, legally married in accordance with all laws of the Federation Council. Ladies, you may kiss your bride."

Arizona couldn't help but release a small giggle as she leaned forward. She was Callie's _wife_. Everything was right in the universe. Her hands found their way to Callie's neck and hips, and her lips found their way to Callie's. Their kiss was soft and sweet. Chaste, in respect for their guests, but full of the passion of their love.

"I love you," she murmured against Callie's lips, the applause and cheers of the crowd forming a beautiful soundtrack. "I love you so much." She felt Callie smile and was immediately drawn in closer to her wife's body.

"I love you, too, Arizona," Callie whispered. "I love you, too." Callie pulled away slightly so she could rest her forehead on Arizona's. "We're married," Callie smiled. "I'm your wife."

Arizona smiled back. "And I'm yours."

* * *

**AN: The end! But not really! Stay tuned for USS Calzona: The Continuing Stories. I'll post an author's note onto this story when the first installation of that is up. It shouldn't be too long.**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews and encouragement while reading this story! I had an awesome time writing it, and I just loved getting all of your comments. So thank you!**


	30. Author's Note

Alright guys, I'm moving this story over to "Complete". I just posted the wedding earlier tonight (err...yesterday).

The first installment of USS Calzona: The Continuing Stories has been posted, so check it out! The first "chapter" is an authors note/guide, and the second "chapter" is the actual story part.


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